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1. Y’all. It’s been a while since I’ve teamed up with @charlesornstein, & honestly, I‘d forgotten how tired you feel after a few days of churning with that guy...
We linked up last week to tell the story of what’s happening in Houston’s hospitals. Here’s what we found:
We linked up last week to tell the story of what’s happening in Houston’s hospitals. Here’s what we found:
2. First we examined internal staff messages sent to hospital workers, which showed that some hospitals were already straining to keep up with COVID-19 hospitalizations a week ago. One public hospital had run out of a key drug. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/internal-messages-reveal-crisis-houston-hospitals-coronavirus-cases-surge-n1232640 @NBCNews @propublica
3. Then we pulled public autopsy data and examined EMS response records to show that — as COVID cases surged — a growing number Houston area residents were dying suddenly at home. Another indicator that things are spiraling here. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/coronavirus-surges-houston-confronts-its-hidden-toll-people-dying-home-n1233151 @NBCNews @propublica
4. Imagine being this woman, who had to attempt chest compressions on her dying mother before EMS could arrive. She didn't even know her mom had COVID until an autopsy revealed that's what killed her days later.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/coronavirus-surges-houston-confronts-its-hidden-toll-people-dying-home-n1233151 @NBCNews @propublica
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/coronavirus-surges-houston-confronts-its-hidden-toll-people-dying-home-n1233151 @NBCNews @propublica
5. More on that story here, in a talk with with @NBCNewsNow: https://twitter.com/Mike_Hixenbaugh/status/1280980704977924096 @NBCNews @propublica
6. Today, we published this story. Houston hospitals aren't adding ICU beds fast enough to keep up with new COVID cases, and as a result, some patients are being held for hours or days in ERs, waiting for space. "It is not an optimal level of care." https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/all-hospitals-are-full-houston-overwhelmed-icus-leave-covid-19-n1233430
7. This story also shows that the region’s busiest hospitals are increasingly telling emergency responders that they cannot safely accept new patients.
But ... there's no where else to take them.
"All the hospitals are full": https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/all-hospitals-are-full-houston-overwhelmed-icus-leave-covid-19-n1233430
But ... there's no where else to take them.
"All the hospitals are full": https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/all-hospitals-are-full-houston-overwhelmed-icus-leave-covid-19-n1233430
8. All of these stories can also be found over at @propublica. More to come: https://www.propublica.org/article/all-the-hospitals-are-full-in-houston-overwhelmed-icus-leave-covid-19-patients-waiting-in-ers
