California hospital staff is increasingly spreading amid an explosion of coronavirus cases that threatens to overwhelm the state’s emergency care system.
As of Sunday, more than 16,840 people were hospitalized with Covid-19 infections, more than double the previous high reached in July. A state model that uses current data to predict future trends shows that the figure could reach 75,000 by mid-January.
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 people 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 development, as the rise has come and “the worst has yet to arrive “.
California intensive care units care for more than 3,610 Covid-19 patients. The whole of Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley, which has 12 counties in the north, have exhausted their regular ICU capacity and some hospitals have begun to use the “overload” space. Overall, the state’s ICU capacity was only 2.1% on Sunday.
In Los Angeles County, Nerissa Black, a nurse at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, estimated that she had been averaging less than 10 minutes of care per patient every 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 influx 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 were full of Covid-19 patients. He said a room on another floor dedicated to orthopedic patients had been converted to care for people who have tested positive for the virus. The nurses worked longer shifts and many more, she said. About 5,550 people are hospitalized in 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 wave,” Governor Gavin Newsom said, but there was some light on Sunday as a working group of scientists and experts approved a vaccine developed by Modern . 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.
The Corona Regional Medical Center, southeast of Los Angeles, has converted a former emergency room to help manage nearly twice the usual number of ICU patients. Use the space in two disaster tents to pick up patients with emergencies because the emergency room is full of patients who need to be hospitalized.
In the heavily affected Fresno County in central California, a new 50-bed alternative care center near the community’s regional medical center was opened in recent days. Covid-19 negative patient beds will free up space in area hospitals, where on Friday there were only 13 of the 150 ICU beds, said Dan Lynch, the county’s director of emergency medical services.
Lynch said he expected 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 health safety precautions adequate.
On Saturday night, Apple 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.