RSV, covid and flu push hospitals to the brink -- and it may get worse
When Christina Andersons mother started having chest pains in October, they rushed to the nearest emergency room in their hometown of Ottumwa, Iowa. Because of her mothers ovarian cancer diagnosis, Anderson assumed they would be seen within a reasonable time. Instead, their trip became a nine-hour odyssey.
When we first walked in, it was packed and unlike anything Ive ever seen, Anderson said. I saw people laying across the chairs; some slumped over who had been there for hours before we arrived, and some even got frustrated and left because they couldnt wait anymore.
Andersons story is not an isolated episode. Patients nationwide are facing similar experiences.
Hospitals across the United States are overwhelmed. The combination of a swarm of respiratory illnesses (RSV, coronavirus, flu), staffing shortages and nursing home closures has sparked the state of distress visited upon the already overburdened health-care system. And experts believe the problem will deteriorate further in coming months.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/11/20/hospital-capacity-rsv-flu-covid/