If The Number Of Coronavirus Cases Surge High Enough, U.S. Does Not Have Enough ICU Beds Or Ventilators To Care For Everyone
Experts have been sounding the alarm bells over the number of medical supplies and beds that the country has available to deal with a critical surge in patients. Even with a stockpile of gear, there might not be enough supplies, and doctors may have to start rationing care. Meanwhile, Veterans Affairs medical centers prepare to act as back-up to handle spill-over patients.
The Washington Post:
U.S. May Run Out Of Hospital Beds And Ventilators To Save Those Severely Infected
For weeks now, America’s leaders and its public have been obsessed with one set of numbers: How many people have died? How many confirmed cases? And in what states? But to understand why experts are so alarmed and what may be coming next, the public needs to start paying attention to a whole other set of numbers: How many ventilators do we have in this country? How many hospital beds? How many doctors and nurses? And most importantly, how many sick people can they all treat at the same time? (Wan, Cha and Sun, 3/13)
The Associated Press:
Hospitals Fear Any Surge Of Virus Cases, Supply Shortages
Government and hospital leaders are increasingly sounding the alarm about the health care system in the U.S. and its readiness to absorb waves of patients in the worst-case scenario involving the new coronavirus outbreak.Authorities nationwide already are taking major steps to expand capacity with each passing day, building tents and outfitting unused spaces to house patients. They also are urging people to postpone elective surgeries, dental work and even veterinarian care. New York's governor called for using military bases or college dorms as makeshift care centers. (Sewer, 3/15)
Modern Healthcare:
COVID-19 Could Fill Hospital Beds, But How Many Are There?
One concern about the impact of COVID-19 on providers is ICU capacity. Modern Healthcare has created an estimate of hospital beds for acute-care, critical-access and children's hospitals by state. Please note that the data comes from Medicare cost reports, which are self-reported by the hospitals or system, for fiscal year 2017, the last year for which the most complete data is available. (Broderick, 3/13)
The Washington Post:
Spiking U.S. Coronavirus Cases Could Force Rationing Decisions Similar To Those Made In Italy, China
In the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, doctors made life-or-death decisions last month when 1,000 people needed ventilators to support their breathing, but only 600 were available. In Iran, where numerous high-level officials have been infected, doctors sought unsuccessfully to get the international community to lift sanctions so they could purchase more lifesaving machines. And in northern Italy, doctors took the painful step last week of issuing guidelines for rationing ventilators and other essential medical equipment, prioritizing treatment for the young and others with the best chance of survival. Such tough choices could well be ahead for the United States, a nation with limited hospital capacity and grim epidemiological projections estimating that as many as 40 to 60 percent of the country’s population of 327 million could eventually become infected. (Cha, 3/15)
NPR:
The U.S. Medical Stockpile Can't Solve The Coronavirus Crisis
The U.S. government maintains an enormous stockpile of emergency medical supplies, and officials have already started dipping into it to help fight the novel coronavirus. But while having a stockpile is better than not having it, experts say, there's a limit to what a stockpile can do in this crisis. "It's never going to be as big as you want, because it's just too expensive to do that," says Tara O'Toole, a former homeland security official who is now executive vice president at a nonprofit called In-Q-Tel. (Greenfieldboyce, 3/14)
The New York Times:
The V.A. Prepares To Back Up A Health Care System Threatened By Coronavirus
The Department of Veterans Affairs, legally designated as the backup health care system in national emergencies, is preparing to absorb the overflow of coronavirus patients from private hospitals if — or when — they become strained to the breaking point. It would be the biggest test the sprawling and sometimes troubled government hospital system has faced. The department is experienced in managing an older and vulnerable population, and in many ways, it could be better prepared than the rest of the health care system to take on the task. It has a surplus of beds in many of its 172 hospital centers and a robust number of special rooms for patients with breathing disorders. Leaders at the agency say they have a surplus of supplies that they have been ordering since the beginning of the year. (Steinhauer, 3/15)
CNN:
Health Care, Consumer Industry Groups Raise Concerns About Potential Supply Shortages During Coronavirus Pandemic
Health care and consumer industry groups and even federal agencies have been sounding the alarm that the US may face major problems in keeping basic medical, food and retail supplies available during the coronavirus pandemic. On Sunday, the group representing food and retail companies like Clorox, Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo told the State Department and the US Trade Representative they fear other countries cutting off exports to the US, which could exacerbate the public health emergency. (Polantz, 3/15)
NPR:
Ventilator Shortages Possible As COVID-19 Spreads In U.S.
"The coronavirus, like many respiratory viruses, can cause inflammation in the lungs," explains Dr. William Graham Carlos a pulmonary critical care specialist at Indiana University School of Medicine "And when the lungs become inflamed, the membranes that transfer oxygen from the air into the blood become blocked. "When patients develop this type of viral pneumonia, they often require bedside ventilators which, Carlos says "can supply higher levels of oxygen and also help push air into the lungs to open them up, and afford more opportunity to get oxygen into the patient." (Neighmond, 3/14)
The Wall Street Journal:
As Virus Spreads, Governments Rush To Secure Ventilators
Europe’s first cases of the novel coronavirus sparked a rush for face masks. Now, with hundreds dying every day, governments are racing to stock up on ventilators, a crucial piece of medical equipment needed to save patients with acute instances of the disease it causes. For the handful of companies that manufacture such devices, this has meant working overtime to satisfy a demand peak none of them have ever experienced. The German government last week ordered 10,000 ventilators from Drägerwerk AG, the company’s biggest contract ever, worth roughly a year’s production, according to a company spokesman. (Bender and Lotfus, 3/15)
The New York Times:
Two Emergency Room Doctors Are In Critical Condition With Coronavirus
Two emergency medicine doctors, in New Jersey and Washington State, are in critical condition as a result of coronavirus, reinforcing concerns that the nation’s front-line medical workers are becoming especially vulnerable to the virus, the American College of Emergency Physicians said. “A lot of us think that despite everything we do, we will probably be exposed,” said Dr. William Jaquis, the chair of the group. Still, he said, “The first reported case certainly sends a shock wave through the community.” (Weise, 3/15)
ProPublica:
First Responders Face High Risk But Lack Supplies And Personnel To Combat Coronavirus
After the first confirmed coronavirus case on U.S. soil, 800 miles to his north, the chief of a Northern California fire department gathered his executive team in mid-February to prepare for the inevitable landing of the virus in his community. They planned to screen patients carefully and have their first responders gear up in gowns, masks and goggles if they believed one could be infected. Yet even though the outbreak was already spreading nationwide, Rocklin Fire Department Chief William Hack decided to hold off on putting the high-level response into action until the first case showed up in the county. (Allen, Sanders, Sapien and Churchill, 3/13)
The Wall Street Journal:
South Korea Rations Face Masks In Coronavirus Fight
Just before 1 p.m. on Friday, Son Jae-son marched to his local pharmacy, seeking a prized item in South Korea: his weekly ration of two face masks. South Korean health officials have urged all citizens, even healthy ones like Mr. Son, to wear filtered masks, causing the product to disappear from shelves. With his extended family down to just a handful of masks, Mr. Son’s heart sank when he saw that the drug store—which had posted a sign saying it would have fresh inventory at 1 p.m.—had already attracted a sizable line. Minutes later the stock ran out. He left empty handed. (Jeong, 3/15)
The New York Times:
Two Emergency Room Doctors Are In Critical Condition With Coronavirus
Two emergency medicine doctors, in New Jersey and Washington State, are in critical condition as a result of coronavirus, reinforcing concerns that the nation’s front-line medical workers are becoming especially vulnerable to the virus, the American College of Emergency Physicians said. “A lot of us think that despite everything we do, we will probably be exposed,” said Dr. William Jaquis, the chair of the group. Still, he said, “The first reported case certainly sends a shock wave through the community.” (Weise, 3/15)
