Health workers join Gov. Inslee to warn that hospitals are approaching capacity
With cases of COVID-19 skyrocketing and hospitalizations nearing an “all-time high,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and health care workers on Tuesday gave a look inside increasingly busy hospitals and implored residents again to take precautions and stay home this Thanksgiving.
Inslee and health officials have repeatedly warned that hospitals are nearing capacity as case rates rise statewide. While he’s hopeful targeted restrictions introduced last week will bend the current curve, he said if it doesn’t bend there will be “no other option” but to extend the restrictions to other parts of the economy.
The latest data on the state’s risk-assessment dashboard shows the rate of new cases per 100,000 residents has risen to nearly 300 cases over the two-week period Oct. 30-Nov. 12. The target rate is fewer than 25.
On Monday, the state Department of Health issued a press release warning that COVID-19 transmission is “exceedingly high” in Washington on the heels of a roughly three-day total of 6,277 new cases. Tuesday, the state reported a record high of 3,482 new confirmed cases along with 35 deaths.
“We have almost a vertical curve on how fast this pandemic is moving upwards,” Inslee said Tuesday. “It is really quite stunning, and certainly alarming to all of us who understand what the future could hold if we do not act aggressively against this pandemic.”
Several hospitals have started to plan to curtail elective surgeries and “other, less emergent” problems due to crowding, Inslee said. If this trajectory holds steady, State Health Officer Kathy Lofy expressed concern for what could come next.
Hospitals will probably start to delay all but the most critical surgeries over the next couple weeks if the trend continues, she said. After that, surge plans would kick in to allow hospitals to expand capacity.
While answering a reporter’s question, Inslee said that unless something changes, the state will reach a point where hospitals will have to move into a “critical care situation” and move “to some degree into a triage situation” to determine who can get care.
“At some point, if we don’t change the trajectory of this disease, we’re going to be making choices that people are going to be uncomfortable with, that will leave a permanent scar on those that have to make those hard decisions,” Dr. Nathan Schlicher, president of the Washington State Medical Association, said at the press conference.
Schlicher and Betsy Scott, nurse and vice president of SEIU 1199, described hospitals that are short on space and shorter on staff. Scott painted a picture of long ER wait times and patients receiving care on gurneys in the hallways as they wait for an available bed, of ICU nurses who are stretched thin as Washington competes with other states to employ more.
“Our hospitals are at record capacity,” said Schlicher, who’s also an ER doctor. “My health system is now above where it was in April, and many others are facing that tight crunch as well.”
Answering a reporter’s question about what will happen if the state runs out of hospital capacity, Inslee mentioned adding bed capacity but emphasized the challenge of adequate staffing. The state would do whatever possible to bring in more staff, he said, mentioning the retired workforce and the military as potential resources, but at the moment that’s not necessary as hospitals create capacity by delaying some procedures.
Schlicher emphasized that delaying surgeries buys space and time while Washingtonians “do the right thing.”
“I would say that all the things we’re doing now are to buy time for all of us to rally together, not to ignore the problem that’s before us,” he said.
Schlicher also said a test result today does not mean a person is safe to visit family this week for the holiday. The state Department of Health has urged residents to only seek tests if they have symptoms or had close contact with someone who’s infected or suspected to be infected to ensure access to testing.
“Please wear masks, everyone,” Scott said at the news conference. “Socially distance, stay home for Thanksgiving ... allow us to take care of those of us who need the care, and don’t overwhelm us with more patients in the hospital.”
The governor also shared some good news, following a call with federal officials and a group of U.S. governors: Vaccines could possibly be ready to be administered here as early as mid-December, he said. However, he said it won’t be available to the majority of Washington residents until sometime into next year.
“We have demonstrated our ability to do well, relative to other states, and if we continue to demonstrate that commitment, we’re going to be in much better shape when the vaccine is generally available next year,” he said.
This story was originally published November 24, 2020 at 3:58 PM with the headline "Health workers join Gov. Inslee to warn that hospitals are approaching capacity."
.jpg)