“From the point of view of the ventilator, we feel comfortable,” said Dr. Said Mitchell. “The ventilator we need will probably not be a limiting factor. Unfortunately, with the way this is going on, we don’t even have doctors, nurses or rooms for these patients. “
UNM Hospital has a similar story. The facility has reached its capacity, not mainly due to the Covid-19 but due to other medical requirements.
U.N.M. Dr. Senior Physician of Health Systems and Senior Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs. The UNM hospital has been running at full capacity for at least two to three months, David Pitcher said. “Most of these are related to the delayed demand for care as a result of the early COV wave. There is not much demand for admission of covid related disease. “
As of Friday, covid-positive patients presented less than 10% of the overall patient cases. Dr. David Pitcher said there are fewer than 10 COVID-positive patients on the ventilator on Friday. However, since the hospital is already on capacity, they are starting for home patients, those are all-capacity areas.
“Over the last week or so, and we’re paying close attention to this, we’re also seeing an increase in numbers in old age. It remains to be seen how it ends up translating into the demand for hospital beds and ventilators, but we are paying close attention to that, ”Dr. Pitcher said.
Officials with Loveless Health System did not provide KOB 4 with the amount of COVID-positive patients being treated. However, the spokesman said that, like the UNM and the Presbyterian, they have a deferred plan in place.
“While we see increasing transfers from across the state at Loveless, our hospitals have capacity and we are coordinating efforts on our system to ensure we manage patient flow and usage properly. Our system has a rebound plan in place and is reviewing it for lessons learned and best practices. We monitor PPE, bed availability, pharmaceuticals, respiratory supplies and other items on a daily basis.
Loveless and Presbyterian are reviewing current visitor guides, and may publish that research next week. UNM will now only allow visitors in special circumstances.
