Surging COVID Cases Cause Unprecedented Pressure & Staff Shortages Due To High Volume Of Patients

COVID-19 cases are surging with dueling variants (Omicron & IHU) spreading like wildfire, placing unprecedented pressure on hospitals, which in turn is causing staff shortages. Hospital staffs are stretched more than ever. Get the latest inside…

 

It’s starting to feel like March 2020 again.

Schools across the nation are closing and hospitals are filling up. 

Although the Omicron variant of COVID-19 tends to yield milder symptoms, it is spreading like wildfire across the nation and hospitals expect it to rival or surpass previous COVID patient records. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that around 54,000 people will be hospitalized every day by the end of January.

Right now, hospitals are stretched thin as as they are critically short of nurses, doctors, and other staff. Positive COVID cases are impacting the availability of hospital staff, even though the vast majority has been vaccinated. With cases continuing to rise, it has made it difficult for hospital staff who have to quarantine for five days because of an exposure to COVID-19 or a positive test after being screened.

According to The Washington Post, nearly 1 in 4 medical centers are reporting they have “critical” staffing shortages - the highest proportion of the pandemic.

In Northern Virginia, hospitalizations have increased 300% in 10 days at Sentara Healthcare.

“We are seeing unprecedented levels of admissions from COVID, or with COVID, than we have ever seen before,” said Dr. Jordan Asher, chief physician executive at Sentara Healthcare. “This is effectively our fourth peak, and it is our highest peak. And it is a peak that is continuing to increase every day at greater rates than we have seen before.”

The doctor and nurse shortage - due to staff testing positive, being sick or simply overworked - is obviously putting pressure on hospital staff as cases continue to pile in.

About 1,500 employees at one of Texas’ leading hospitals tested positive for the virus, causing a massive staff shortage.

"Hospital staffing is our most pressing issue, in terms of both physicians and clinical nursing staff," Texas Hospital Association spokeswoman Carrie Williams said. "The primary issue is staff out sick. Many others are in isolation or quarantine, are exhausted or had left to make more money with staffing agencies.”

Nearly 6,000 hospital staff members across New Jersey have tested positive for COVID since Christmas. The state is asking its national guard and FEMA for help with staffing. Over a dozen NJ hospitals are facing critical staffing shortage and at least three more are expected to be by the end of the week, according to CBS. 

Holiday gatherings likely added to the growing number of positive cases.

"We're seeing a surge in patients again, unprecedented in this pandemic," said Dr. James Phillips, chief of disaster medicine at George Washington University Hospital. "What's coming for the rest of the country could be very serious. And they need to be prepared."

”Our health system is at a very different place than we were in previous surges," emergency medicine professor Dr. Esther Choo said. ”This strain is so infectious that I think all of us know many, many colleagues who are currently infected or have symptoms and are under quarantine," said Choo, associate professor at Oregon Health and Science University.

We all must get back to the routines we created when the virus first hit. Sanitize everything. Wash your hands. Get vaccinated. Cut back on going out to large parties/events often. And at the very least, WEAR YOUR MASK! So many people don't know they have an underlying issue until they end up hospitalized...

Photos: Olena Yakobchuk/Shutterstock

source: theybf