Alaska, Idaho using crisis standards of care

[struggle4progress]

Stephanie Soucheray | News Reporter | CIDRAP News | Sep 15, 2021

Alaska now joins Idaho in establishing crisis standards of care as its largest hospital is now prioritizing treatment to patients most likely to survive COVID-19 infections.

"While we are doing our utmost, we are no longer able to provide the standard of care to each and every patient who needs our help," Kristen Solana Walkinshaw, MD, chief of staff at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, wrote in a letter addressed to Alaskans and published yesterday.

"We have been forced within our hospital to implement crisis standards of care," Walkinshaw said. "We have been required to develop and enact policies and procedure to ration medical care and treatments, including dialysis and specialized ventilatory support” ...

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/09/alaska-idaho-using-crisis-standards-care-over-covid-19

[struggle4progress]

1. All of Idaho under Crisis Standards of Care

by KBOI Staff
Thursday, September 16th 2021

BOISE, Idaho (KBOI) — The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has activated Crisis Standards of Care across the entire state of Idaho due to the state's massive influx of COVID-19 patients being hospitalized. The surge, IDHW says, has exhausted existing resources in all areas of Idaho.

Crisis Standards of Care (CSC) was activated in northern Idaho back on September 6. This activation now expands that declaration to the rest of the state ...

This declaration essentially gives hospitals and other treatment facilities across the state the option of implementing care rationing strategies if or when they become necessary. Hospitals will use Crisis Standards of Care on an as-needed basis, according to their own policies. Hospitals and facilities that are managing under their current circumstances can continue to do so ...

https://idahonews.com/news/local/all-of-idaho-now-under-crisis-standards-of-care

[struggle4progress]

2. Montana's largest hospital close to rationing care

By Vincent Del Giudice
September 15, 2021, 5:09 PM EDT

Montana’s largest hospital is considering crisis standards of care procedures that grant authority to decide who receives life-saving treatment, the Billings Gazette reported Wednesday.

Intensive care unit capacity at Billings Clinic is at 150% as Covid-19 rages, the newspaper said.

“If it comes to a point where we have to make those incredibly [difficult] life or death situations, we will have an objective team that will be available to provide council and make those decisions,” said Laurie Smith, chief nursing officer.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-15/montana-s-largest-hospital-close-to-rationing-life-saving-care

[struggle4progress]

3. Missoula hospitals close to crisis care

BY MARTIN KIDSTON
SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

... Saying the situation in Missoula had reached crisis level, the city confirmed that the Montana National Guard will arrive next week to assist in pandemic care while hospitals are close to shifting to crisis standards of care.

“We’re not at that state yet, but we’re on the cusp of that state. We’re not doing business as normal,” said Dr. James McKay, the chief physician executive at Providence. “We’re at the point where we are having to limit some of the care we’d do on a normal day. In a sense, we’re already triaging people.”

McKay and other hospital officials said local facilities are backed up and already are diverting patients from outlying areas. Those in surrounding communities who need the level of care provided by Missoula’s larger medical facilities can’t be brought in due to a lack of space ...

https://missoulacurrent.com/montana-today/2021/09/missoula-hospitals-crisis/

[ffr]

4. Mid-September? Delta is still in its offseason. Wait until mid-January.

You could see armed mobs rushing hospitals demanding care for their own.

This is going to get ugly.

[struggle4progress]

5. What are 'crisis standards of care?'

by REBECCA BOONE, IRIS SAMUELS AND LINDSEY TANNER, The Associated Press
Friday, September 17th 2021

... At least five more states — Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas — are nearing capacity with more than 90% of their intensive care unit beds full, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The move to ration healthcare comes amid a spike in the number of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization. Crisis standards of care allow health care providers to give scarce resources, like ventilators, to the patients most likely to survive ...

https://komonews.com/news/coronavirus/explainer-what-are-crisis-standards-of-care

[struggle4progress]

6. Rhea TN Medical ER doctor describes major challenges at rural hospital

by WTVC
Friday, September 17th 2021

... Dr. Mark Pollard told us .. that in the last month, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it "almost impossible" to transfer patients that require urgent, immediate care to other hospitals. That includes those suffering from heart attacks, strokes, fractures like broken hips, and several other medical problems that require a transfer.

As a result, Dr. Pollard tells us, "some of them have died waiting for transfer. Some of them have died" ...

Dr. Pollard .. believes the community does not understand the gravity of the issue ...

https://newschannel9.com/news/coronavirus/terrible-crisis-rhea-medical-er-doctor-describes-major-challenges-at-rural-hospital

[struggle4progress]

7. West Virginia hospitals in crisis mode

Katelyn Waltemyer
Jackson Newspapers

West Virginia is No. 1 in the U.S. for COVID cases with more than 100 out of 100,000 infected, West Virginia University Medicine announced Thursday on its Facebook page.

According to The New York Times, West Virginia has a case count of 109 per 100,000, which is a 45% increase in the last 14 days. The daily hospitalization average in the state is 917, which is a 31% increase in the last 14 days.

WVU Medicine said in its post that nine of its hospitals are operating under a "crisis-level of care." One hospital declared an emergency crisis Wednesday due to a strain on its oxygen system that occurred because of the high volume of COVID patients ...

https://www.jacksonnewspapers.com/story/news/2021/09/17/west-virginia-top-covid-cases-surge-highest-infection-rate-us-hospitals-crisis/8379381002/

[struggle4progress]

8. Marietta OH Memorial Hospital "in a crisis"

By Zach Shrivers and Phyllis Smith
Published: Sep. 16, 2021 at 6:37 PM EDT|Updated: 23 hours ago

... According to a written statement by a hospital spokesperson, Marietta Memorial’s intensive care unit is at 200 percent of its intended capacity.

“We are in a crisis as the demand for healthcare services is outstripping our ability to meet it,” the statement said.

Employees are working more shifts with longer hours to meet the demand ...

https://www.wtap.com/2021/09/16/marietta-memorial-hospital-crisis-due-covid-numbers/

[struggle4progress]

9. Some elective surgeries on hold as Minnesota hospitals face crisis

By Jeff Wagner
September 15, 2021 at 10:13 pm

... “It’s taken a toll and there are fewer staff in most of our institutions than there have been for a long time,” said Jan Malcolm, the Minnesota Department of Health commissioner. She cited burnout and stress as two key reasons. Other health care experts mentioned workers catching COVID-19 and needing to quarantine, as well as family needs at home forcing them to step away ...

https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2021/09/15/some-elective-surgeries-on-hold-as-minnesota-hospitals-face-staffing-crisis/

[struggle4progress]

10. ND hospital executive: 'We really are in a crisis'

BY NATHANIEL WEIXEL - 09/15/21 04:54 PM EDT

A top official at North Dakota's largest health system said his hospitals don't have the staff to deal with the surging number of COVID-19 cases.

“We really are in crisis,” Doug Griffin, vice president and medical officer of Sanford Health in Fargo, said during a recent briefing with local press.

"It's really all about staffing. We are frequently calling staff, offering large amounts of incentives for them to work extra. ... We think this is the most dire staffing situation we've ever faced," Griffin said ...

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/572472-north-dakota-hospital-exec-we-are-in-a-crisis

[keithbvadu2]

11. Republicans are doing a fine job of creating their death panels.

Republicans are doing a fine job of creating their death panels.

[struggle4progress]

12. KY hospitals face crisis

... Dr. Samantha Baah, with Norton Healthcare pulmonary and critical care said, "It's frustrating. It's emotionally and physically devastating that we're experiencing this again. Unfortunately, what we're seeing with this delta variant is that patients are younger and younger. We're seeing patients in their twenties, thirties, forties and fifties dying, which could have been prevented because most of the patients dying of COVID are unvaccinated" ...

Critical care nurse Carol Sivado said ....

"I feel like we really are at war ... I feel like I have PTSD, but I know I have to keep going. I chose to do this. And I know a lot of people in the public are going to say, 'You chose to do this,' and you’re right, I did. And I feel proud that I’ve been able to help people the best that I can. This is my first time in 37 years of doing this. I’m angry. I’m really having trouble with myself because I’ve always considered myself a compassionate person, and not that I’m not now, I am, but I’m angry because for a large part, this was preventable" ...

Registered respiratory therapist Sarah Wallace said, "It’s a little bit scarier this time around because we are having a mass exodus of employees so we're concerned about being able to take care of patients who keep coming in" ...

Wieder says it’s not uncommon for ICU staff to break down in tears, but they rarely get an opportunity to process their emotions, because there are dozens of other patients waiting for critical care. Many of the nurses who aren’t trained to work in the ICU are stepping into an unfamiliar role ...

https://www.wlky.com/article/one-on-one-with-health-care-workers-as-kentucky-hospitals-face-crisis-i-feel-like-were-at-war/37598904#

[struggle4progress]

13. OK hospital at max capacity

Sep 14, 2021 Updated Sep 15, 2021

... Dr. Woody Jenkins of Stillwater said about one-third of their ICU nurses have left in just the past few months: "I want to let you know that our staff is physically exhausted, emotionally spent and psychologically impacted" ...

https://tulsaworld.com/video/news/we-are-still-under-a-crisis-standard-of-care-oklahoma-hospital-at-max-capacity/video_42601bfd-daee-55de-95b8-4f3d7c5a23c5.html

[struggle4progress]

14. WA has little capacity to help neighboring ID

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press
Sep 14, 2021 Updated Sep 14, 2021

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington is facing its own COVID-19 crisis and has little capacity to help neighboring Idaho deal with an overwhelming surge of cases driven by unvaccinated people, state hospital executives and doctors said Monday.

Taya Briley, executive vice president of the Washington State Hospital Association, called the situation “very sobering” during a media briefing, saying Washington faces its worst COVID wave since the pandemic began — even before big recent events like fall fairs and a return to school.

Hospitals are canceling necessary surgeries and taking longer to deal with heart attacks and strokes because COVID patients are taking up so many beds. Nearly 1,700 patients are hospitalized with COVID, up from 350 in June and early July before the delta variant’s spread among the unvaccinated drove the spike, Briley said ...

https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/state_news/washington-has-little-capacity-to-help-neighboring-idaho-with-covid-19-crisis-hospital-executives-say/article_adb5c235-1a03-5410-aae1-3d38098c2632.html

[11 Bravo]

15. Is Sarah Palin bitching about Republican "death panels" yet?

Yeah, I didn't think so.

It's been a while, but saying "Fuck you, Caribou Barbie" always feels cathartic.

[crickets]

16. K&R for visibility.