‘A Disaster Every Single Day’: Nation’s Health Systems Showing Strain
Officials raise concerns that hospitals may hit a breaking point if the trajectory of ever-growing caseloads doesn’t change. Plus, a look at the effect of the coronavirus surge on hospitals in Georgia and school nurses in Texas.
The Washington Post:
Sun Belt Hospitals Are Feeling The Strain From Virus’ Surge — And Bracing For Worse
In California, doctors are shipping patients as many as 600 miles away because they can’t be cared for locally. In Florida, nurses are pouring in from out of state to reinforce exhausted medical workers. And in Texas, mayors are demanding the right to shut down their cities to avoid overwhelming hospitals. In a nation gripped by a record number of coronavirus cases — with severe outbreaks across multiple states and regions — medical systems are increasingly showing the strain, with shortages of critically needed personnel, equipment and testing. (Witte and Weiner, 7/16)
GPB:
Georgia Hospital Worker Sounds Alarm: 'I Have Never Ever Seen Anything Like This. Ever'
The emergency room overflowed with patients. Then, the next wave arrived. This time on stretchers. ...Staff members did what they always do. They tended to patients as best they could. For the sickest patients, staff searched for available beds in nearby hospitals. In previous weeks, the health care worker said, COVID-19 patients typically got transported to medical centers about 70 miles north to Atlanta or 160 miles east to Savannah. This week, there was no room. Desperate, the health care worker said, administrators began checking available hospitals in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. (Drash, 7/16)
Houston Chronicle:
Houston-Area School Nurses Prepare To Be On The Front Lines Of COVID Fight
When campuses reopen in Texas, school nurses will be at the forefront of containing and responding to possible COVID-19 infections in educational settings. ... health professionals agree school-based nurses likely will have to train teachers to screen students for potential exposure to the virus, teach students and staff the correct ways to use personal protective equipment, provide breathing treatments for anyone who may struggle and isolate students or staff who may have COVID-19. Some campuses, however, will be without that extra help. Texas does not require schools to keep nurses on staff. (Webb, 7/16)
Kaiser Health News:
Lost On The Frontline
America’s health care workers are dying. In some states, medical personnel account for as many as 20% of known coronavirus cases. They tend to patients in hospitals, treating them, serving them food and cleaning their rooms. Others at risk work in nursing homes or are employed as home health aides. “Lost on the Frontline,” a collaboration between KHN and The Guardian, has identified 815 such workers who likely died of COVID-19 after helping patients during the pandemic. (7/17)
