Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Covid Surge Means Delays For Non-Urgent Procedures In Massachusetts
The Boston Globe: Baker Administration Instructs Some Hospitals To Reduce Non-Urgent, Scheduled Procedures Amid Strain On Hospital Capacity
Beginning next week, hospitals in Massachusetts with limited capacity will be required to reduce certain non-urgent, scheduled procedures amid a strain on hospital capacity, the Baker administration announced Tuesday. The new public health order goes into effect Nov. 29, the state’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services said in a statement. It comes amid several contributing factors, including a staffing shortage, which has contributed to the loss of about 500 medical and intensive care unit beds, and a surge in hospitalizations that arises every year after Thanksgiving through January, the statement said. (Kaufman and Freyer, 11/23)
The Hill: Massachusetts Governor Orders Some Hospitals To Delay Nonessential Procedures
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) signed an emergency declaration on Tuesday ordering some hospitals to delay nonessential procedures due to staffing shortages. The governor, along with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, said hospitals that do not have the capacity or staff for patients will have to delay nonessential procedures. The guidance was also made in coordination with the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association. (Lonas, 11/23)
In news on surges in covid elsewhere —
AP: Vaccines Making Holiday Easier, But Hot Spots Remain
The U.S. is facing its second Thanksgiving of the pandemic in better shape than the first time around, thanks to the vaccine, though some regions are seeing surges of COVID-19 cases that could get worse as families travel the country for gatherings that were impossible a year ago. Nearly 200 million Americans are fully vaccinated. That leaves tens of millions who have yet to get a shot in the arm, some of them out of defiance. Hospitals in the cold Upper Midwest, especially Michigan and Minnesota, are filled with COVID-19 patients who are mostly unvaccinated. (White, 11/23)
Chicago Tribune: Latest Coronavirus Surge In Illinois Surpasses Delta-Driven Surge Of Late Summer
The late fall surge in coronavirus cases in Illinois has surpassed the peak of the late summer wave just as the holidays approach. State health officials on Tuesday reported 4,589 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, bringing the average number of daily cases over the past week to 4,618. The last surge peaked at 4,440 cases per day during the week ending Sept. 4. The seven-day average dipped as low as 2,069 cases per day in late October before starting to climb once again. (Petrella and Mahr, 11/23)
Los Angeles Times: Central California Begs To Send COVID-19 Patients To L.A.
The COVID-19 surge still affecting Central California is so dire that health officials are pleading with state officials to make it easier to transfer hospital patients to areas like Los Angeles County. “We don’t have enough hospitals to serve the population and the needs,” said Dr. Rais Vohra, the Fresno County interim health officer. Hospitals across the entire San Joaquin Valley are “often running over capacity, so that they’re holding dozens and dozens of patients in the emergency department.” (Lin II, 11/23)
Bloomberg: Hospitals Seek Military Help in Michigan Amid Covid Overflow
Henry Ford Health System has seen Covid-19 cases soar by 50% in three weeks, straining staff and care at the Detroit-based network of five major hospitals in southeast Michigan. On Tuesday, statewide Covid hospitalizations reached 4,085, approaching the record of 4,640 set in April 2020 at the onset of the pandemic. Michigan’s hospitals, with the help of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, have asked the U.S. Department of Defense to provide emergency staff, said Brian Peters, chief executive officer of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association. (Naughton and Edney, 11/23)
AP: Arizona Hospital Executives Issue Plea As Virus Cases Rise
Hospital executives and public health authorities across Arizona pleaded Tuesday for people to get vaccinated and do everything possible to avoid spreading the coronavirus as they gird for another surge in cases that threatens once again to overwhelm the state’s health care system. The numbers of coronavirus infections and hospital stays are trending up, as they did this time last year as families gathered for the holidays, culminating in a crushing demand at hospitals. “Our messaging today is to ask for assistance. We need less COVID patients,” Dr. Marjorie Bessel, the chief medical officer at Banner Health, said during a news conference with the top doctors from the state’s major health care systems. (Cooper and Davenport, 11/23)
Bloomberg: Even in Highly Vaccinated New England, Hospitals Are Suffering
The northern New England states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, all highly vaccinated, are suffering from surges that are taxing hospitals beset by staff shortages and sicker-than-usual patients. New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu told reporters Tuesday that the state is seeing its highest level of Covid-19 since the pandemic began, averaging about 1,000 new infections per day. He issued an executive order to help hospitals use their space more flexibly to add capacity. (Goldberg, 11/23)
