Read on Twitter
ICU admissions lag behind hospitalizations lag behind cases lag behind behaviors. So unless Oklahomans took major strides weeks ago, the roof is about to blow off its ICUs. https://twitter.com/greatgatsby8790/status/1327874857170821121
What do hospitals do in these cases? They get creative. Non-ICU spaces can get converted into ICU spaces, regional coordination can shift patients around to where space is most available. But space is not the only issue.
It’s also staffing: docs, nurses, RT’s. And that is harder to flex up. You can pull people to practice off-specialty, but as we saw in NYC, having to do so is one of the most stressful aspects of surge. Likely not great for patient care, either.
Medical personnel do come from out of state to help out hardest hit places, for limited periods of time. But with so many states hit hard consecutively this time, it’s different than when the whole country mobilized around New York.
Anyone who has a loved one who would be horrified to take them to a hospital and find there is no capacity to treat them the way they need to be treated should be behaving as if they are barreling towards that outcome with one chance to prevent it.
Healthcare workers have optimized what we can. We have plans, protocols. We’ve changed physical spaces. We’re using therapies to their max. We’ll squeeze our workers to the limit to get shifts covered, scramble to fill ever-present gaps in PPE, testing, meds, supply.
The rest is up to everyone out there.
