Delta Surges And Hospitals Struggle To Stretch Capacity, Staffing
Amid a surge in covid cases, driven by the delta variant, Florida's hospitals are expanding their covid units, limiting visitors and battling employee shortages as they struggle to retain nursing staff. News outlets across the country also report on how recent covid spikes are affecting health care systems.
The Wall Street Journal:
Covid-19 Patients Overwhelm Busy Hospitals As Delta Variant Spreads
The latest wave of Covid-19 hospitalizations is crashing into patients returning for care for other ailments, overtaxing some facilities and exhausting their doctors and nurses. Surgeries and treatments for cancer, heart disease and other common conditions have rebounded this year, filling beds at many hospitals. At the same time, other respiratory viruses, such as RSV, have re-emerged along with public gatherings, adding to hospital strain. Now some hospitals are treating more Covid-19 patients than ever before as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads, particularly where vaccination rates are lower. This new chapter of the protracted pandemic has exhausted hospital staff. (Evans and Wernau, 8/4)
Houston Chronicle:
Texas Children's Took Adult Patients In Past COVID Surges. Now, With RSV Uptick, There's No Room.
In previous COVID-19 surges, Texas Children’s Hospital has taken pressure off other Houston-area hospitals by accepting non-COVID adults. But that’s not possible now, as a rise in pediatric hospitalizations could make this fourth surge worse. Texas Children’s interim pediatrician-in-chief Jim Versalovic says the hospital now faces two challenges in serving children: an unusual summer wave of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, which can be life-threatening for babies and young children; and a steady increase of COVID-19 in children of all ages. More than 25 children are currently hospitalized there with COVID, he said — more than seen in previous waves. (Gray, 8/3)
Health News Florida:
Florida Hospitals Struggle To Retain Enough Nurses During COVID-19 Surge
Hospitals around the country need more nurses, including in Florida, which has the most per capita hospitalizations for COVID-19 of any state and spiking COVID-19 numbers. "Because there's been a demand for nurses, we're all getting offers from agencies from around the country, from different hospitals in South Florida and throughout Florida with offers for double, sometimes triple your salary," said Betsy Marville, nurse organizer with the 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East in Florida. She worries that nurses won’t come back to some of their previous jobs, as opposed to seasonal travel jobs of years past. (Zaragovia, 8/3)
Health News Florida:
Florida Hospitals Taking Steps To Battle COVID Surge
Florida’s largest hospital systems are expanding their COVID units, limiting visitors and fearing staffing shortages as they deal with the statewide surge in cases. Hospitalizations have grown tenfold statewide in just over a month as the more contagious delta variant spreads, with more than 95% of COVID patients unvaccinated. Florida is now leading the nation in per capita hospitalizations for COVID-19. Hospitals say they're seeing more young people than before, some with severe cases. (8/3)
ABC News:
Louisiana Nurse Shares Emotional Plea Amid Delta Variant COVID-19 Surge: 'People Are Younger And Sicker'
COVID-19 intensive care unit nurse Felicia Croft shared an emotional plea with ABC News about the recent delta variant surge in her home state of Louisiana. "I can say today was probably one of the most emotionally hard days since the pandemic started, the delta wave that we're seeing now," Croft said. "People are younger and sicker, and we're intubating and losing people that are my age and younger, people with kids that are my kids' age that are never going to see their kids graduate." (Yamada, 8/3)
ABC News:
Arkansas Sees Highest Hospitalization Increase Since Start Of Pandemic
The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads. More than 613,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 4.2 million people have died worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. (Shapiro and Pereira, 8/2)
ABC News:
Arkansas Sees Highest Hospitalization Increase Since Start Of Pandemic
The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads. More than 614,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 4.2 million people have died worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. (Shapiro and Pereira, 8/3)
Associated Press:
COVID-19 Cases In Oregon Surge, Hospital Beds Filling Fast
As COVID-19 cases continue to climb in Oregon, some counties — most where less than half of the area's adult population is vaccinated — are experiencing their highest hospitalization numbers during the pandemic. Statewide coronavirus-related hospitalizations increased to 379 people on Tuesday, 39 more than the previous day. Some hospital officials, including those at Oregon Health & Science University, said they are postponing some surgeries that are not urgent, KOIN-TV reported Monday. (8/3)
Albany Herald:
Phoebe's Scott Steiner: We're Now Facing COVID-21
The words from Phoebe Putney Health System President/CEO Scott Steiner have an ominous ring: “We are now seeing COVID-21.” Steiner made the comment Tuesday while talking about the surge in COVID patients at Phoebe facilities. A count that was at seven 3 1/2 weeks ago is now at 81, 72 at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany and nine at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus. The hospital had reported 42 COVID patients last week, but, as Steiner noted, “We had 18 admissions yesterday alone. (Fletcher, 8/3)
