Hospital system overwhelmed

[Spongebob]

Not sure this is the right place for this thread.  I don't think this is a political issue but maybe it is.  I was just reading an article about how overwhelmed our hospitals are with covid patients.  Some are having to turn away patients with other, very serious, conditions because they are simply full.  It highlights the fact that our system probably has not grown proportionately with population growth.  I live in a town with one huge hospital and a second much smaller one.  No new hospitals have opened up in a while.  Our population is around 250,000 if you count the surrounding area.  The nearest towns have small hospitals there as well but nothing new and no expansion in decades.  It seems like the hospitals here are always dealing with space issues, even before covid.  We also have a VA clinic but its tiny.  It seems like a metro area this size could support more hospitals.  I don't think a hospital running near capacity is a good thing.  There's always the possibility of a surge in patients from some unexpected disease or catastrophe.

[Angrboda]

Hospitals often run near capacity as there's no reason to staff unneeded beds. It doesn't necessarily mean they're out of beds, only out of staffed beds.

[Ranjr]

Washington Regional Medical Center is asking that Bikes, Blues & BBQ be postponed this year due to a recent surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

“To hold such an event at a moment when our region’s healthcare systems are overwhelmed responding to the latest surge in hospitalizations resulting from the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus is to invite disaster,” Ratcliff said. “In short, our region’s hospitals have no way to accommodate the additional traumas that always occasion that event, let alone the additional COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations that are likely to accompany an event where 300,000 congregate in close proximity.”

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Recently read a story about a US hospital that had to turn away a cancer patient in need of emergency treatment, due to COVID patients taking up all of the available beds.

And I think making the distinction between ‘a bed’ and a ‘staffed bed’ is kind of pointless, in that it’s readily apparent that they’re the same thing - a hospital could have 1000 beds stored in the basement and still not be able to accept incoming patients.

Boru

[Fake Messiah]

Yeah, it seems it's the unvaccinated people:

US Covid-19 hospitalizations, according to data Wednesday from the US Department of Health and Human Services. At least 100,317 people are reported to be hospitalized for Covid-19, of which, 17,164 are in Florida.

"There's not a single patient that we've had to intubate because of a complication from the vaccine. The people we're intubating, the people that are on life support, the people that are dying are the ones that are not vaccinated."

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/26/us/covid-...index.html

I just wonder if any percent of the people who are in the hospitals are those that got vaccinated.

[Angrboda]

Recently read a story about a US hospital that had to turn away a cancer patient in need of emergency treatment, due to COVID patients taking up all of the available beds.

And I think making the distinction between ‘a bed’ and a ‘staffed bed’ is kind of pointless, in that it’s readily apparent that they’re the same thing - a hospital could have 1000 beds stored in the basement and still not be able to accept incoming patients.

Boru

The point is that you can usually add staff. You can't add more rooms for beds. We're not talking about the physical bed here.

Representatives from hospital associations said it isn’t unusual for hospitals to operate close to their maximum capacity. This is because hospitals are continually adjusting their capacity based on demand.

"They may have some rooms on a floor or in a specific unit that are physically there, but since they aren’t staffed, they aren’t available for patient use," said Marc Lotter, a spokesperson for the Florida Hospital Association. "Should the need rise, hospitals will staff those beds and make them available."

Hospitals are careful to maintain enough capacity for unexpected circumstances and emergencies, Lotter said, but to contain costs, they do not keep rooms staffed or available if they aren’t in use or likely to be needed.

(link)

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Yeah, it seems it's the unvaccinated people:

US Covid-19 hospitalizations, according to data Wednesday from the US Department of Health and Human Services. At least 100,317 people are reported to be hospitalized for Covid-19, of which, 17,164 are in Florida.

"There's not a single patient that we've had to intubate because of a complication from the vaccine. The people we're intubating, the people that are on life support, the people that are dying are the ones that are not vaccinated."

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/26/us/covid-...index.html

I just wonder if any percent of the people who are in the hospitals are those that got vaccinated.

Of course. Getting the COVID vaccine doesn’t mean you can’t break your foot or have a troublesome gall bladder.

Boru

[brewer]

There's always the possibility of a surge in patients from some unexpected disease or catastrophe.

You want hospitals built, staffed, and funded to be able to accomadate what if scenarios?

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Recently read a story about a US hospital that had to turn away a cancer patient in need of emergency treatment, due to COVID patients taking up all of the available beds.

And I think making the distinction between ‘a bed’ and a ‘staffed bed’ is kind of pointless, in that it’s readily apparent that they’re the same thing - a hospital could have 1000 beds stored in the basement and still not be able to accept incoming patients.

Boru

The point is that you can usually add staff.  You can't add more rooms for beds.  We're not talking about the physical bed here.

Then I misunderstood the term ‘staffed beds’. Mea culpa.

Boru

[brewer]

We're having an RSV outbreak in kids on top of covid. Pediatric units are reaching capacity. And still no masks.