LOS ANGELES (AP) – Medical staffing is expanding as California hospitals look for beds for patients amid an explosion of coronavirus cases that threatens to invade the emergency care system of California. the state.
As of Sunday, more than 16,840 people had been hospitalized with COVID-19-confirmed infections (more than double the previous peak reached in July) and a state model that uses current data to predict future trends shows that the figure could reach the 75,000 in mid-January.
More than 3,610 patients with COVID-19 were in intensive care units. All of Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley, northeast of twelve counties, have run out of their regular ICU capacity and some hospitals have begun using the “overload” space. Overall, the state’s ICU capacity was only 2.1% on Sunday.
In harsh Los Angeles County, Nerissa Black, a nurse at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, estimated that she has averaged less than 10 minutes of patient care per hour. This includes not only night care, but also the use of equipment, making graphs, reviewing lab results and consulting with doctors, he said.
“And the patients who come in now are sicker than ever, because a lot of people wait before they get care. So when they come in, they’re very, very sick, “Black said Sunday.
The huge mass of cases in the last six weeks is causing the death toll in California to rise more and more. Another 161 fatalities were recorded on Sunday for a total of 22,593.
Across Los Angeles County, at UCLA Health Santa Monica Medical Center, nurse Wendy Macedo said the 25 beds in her unit are full of COVID-19 patients. He said a room on another floor dedicated to orthopedic patients has been converted to care for people who have tested positive for the virus. Nurses work long shifts and many more, she said. There are about 5,550 people hospitalized with COVID-19 across the county.
“The more patients we have, the more likely we are to make a mistake, especially if we rush,” Macedo said Sunday. “Obviously, we try to avoid it, but we’re just human.”
California was experiencing “some of the darkest days of our COVID-19 rise,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said, but there was a bit of a Sunday as a working group of scientists and experts approved a vaccine developed by Moderna. The move paves the way for the distribution of the drug by California and other Western states that reviewed it separately from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Shipments of the vaccine are expected to arrive in California earlier this week, but it could be months before it is available to the general public, officials said.
“Until vaccines are available statewide, it’s critical that all Californians do their part to stop the climb by staying home and wearing a mask when they leave home for essential tasks and needs,” he said. dir Newsom.
Until vaccines became widespread, hospitals were preparing for the possibility of rationing care. A document recently distributed among doctors at four hospitals in Los Angeles County calls for a change in strategy: instead of trying everything to save a life, its goal during the crisis is to save as many patients as possible. This means that those who are less likely to survive will not receive the same type of care that is offered in normal times.
“Some commitment to the standard of care is inevitable; it’s not that an entity, system, or regional setting decides to limit resources, but it’s clear that resources aren’t available to provide care on a regular basis, ”the document obtained by the Los Angeles Times says.
The county’s director of health services, Dr. Christina Ghaly, said the guidelines were not in place as of Friday night, but were essential to develop, as the rise has come and “the worst yet.” must arrive “.
Many hospitals have already implemented emergency procedures to stretch staff and space.
The Corona Regional Medical Center, southeast of Los Angeles, has converted a former emergency room to help manage nearly twice the usual number of patients with ICUs. Space in two disaster tents is used to pick up patients with emergencies because the emergency room is full of patients who need to be hospitalized.
In the harsh county of Fresno, in central California, a new 50-bed alternative care center near the community’s Regional Medical Center has recently opened. COVID-19 negative patient beds will free up space in area hospitals, where only 13 of the 150 ICU beds were available Friday, said Dan Lynch, the county’s director of emergency medical services.
Lynch said he expects them to use the Fresno Convention Center, which can accommodate up to 250 patients, given current demand.
Fresno and three neighboring counties have also taken the unprecedented step of sending paramedics to emergency calls to assess people. They won’t be taken to the emergency room if they could go to an urgent care center or wait a few days to talk to their doctors, Lynch said.
Some hospitals have canceled non-essential elective surgeries, such as hip replacements, which may require beds that may soon be needed for patients with COVID-19. Others increase staff hours or move patients to free up space.
Los Angeles County health officials announced Saturday that they have amended their health orders to comply with recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings calling for places of worship to be allowed outside and inside services, with proper health safety precautions. .
Saturday night, Apple Inc. announced it would temporarily close all 53 stores in California due to the coronavirus outbreak. According to the current home stay order for almost the entire state, retail stores have a limited capacity of 20%.
Supermarkets have been affected by the rise in the virus, which has resulted in an essential service that remains open during the last order of stay at home. Of the six outbreaks at Food 4 Less locations in the Los Angeles area, three were first recorded this month, related to the current increase, according to a Times analysis. An outbreak is defined as three or more cases among staff over a 14-day period.