Our Hospitals Are Sick

“The level of care that we have gotten used to in our hospitals no longer exists” (The Atlantic 12/16/21). As outsiders (of the hospitals), our lifestyle with the COVID pandemic has somewhat improved, but the crisis still exists inside our hospitals. We were not prepared when the pandemic started, and we are not prepared for the future.

Like any living creature, viruses want to survive. So despite what we – as humans – feel, believe or think, the virus continues to mutate, adapt and live on. Hospitalizations due to COVID infections are rising in 42 states; hospitals are once again overwhelmed, and there has been a mass exit of healthcare providers leaving hospitals, due to the burdens of caring for COVID patients and the risks they impose. Patients with ruptured appendixes, broken bones, heart conditions, cancer and more are waiting for hours in emergency departments – often only to be transferred elsewhere because there are no beds. Elective surgeries for countless others are being postponed, and patients are dangerously delaying their surgeries. Our hospitals are very sick, the health care workers are living in constant crisis, and our society is not paying attention (Medscape, Dec. 2021). What happened to calling them “our heroes” as we did at the beginning of the pandemic?
     
We still have people refusing vaccinations and others not enforcing the wearing of masks indoors when we are in public places where the vaccination status is unknown. These two measures prevent the spread of infection, protect others, improve our quality of life including economics, and they are simple to do. We know what measures control the spread of variants – masks, better ventilation, testing, contact tracing, quarantine, and restrictions on gathering, but the U.S. has failed to invest in these tools and approaches. We will feel the pain, just like our hospitals are feeling it now.
  
As of December 13, 2021, Medscape (and other sources – see below) report the following statistics:

• 1 out of 100 seniors in our country has died from COVID
• Indiana, Maine, and New York have requested aid from the National Guard,
• The Great Lakes region and the Northeast are seeing some of the most severe increases
• COVID cases are expected to double throughout December in NYC, Philly, Boston, and Baltimore
• Most of the U.S. will see significant growth in COVID-19 cases during the next four weeks, according to PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
• Michigan has the country's highest hospitalization rate, and federal medical teams have been sent to the state to help with the surge in patients. The surge is described by healthcare professionals as "critical" and "deeply concerning.” They requested 200 more ventilators from the Strategic National Stockpile.
• Americans are still dying of COVID every day, and more have died this year than last.
• According to the virologist John Lowe: “The University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, which entered the pandemic as arguably ‘the best prepared hospital in the country’ recently went from 70 COVID patients to 110 in four days, leaving its staff grasping for resolve.”
• People who are getting milder cases and are unlikely to be hospitalized can still spread the virus to those who are more vulnerable. And yes the case might be mild, but what about the long-term COVID effects? What will this do to society? “The collective threat is substantially greater than the individual one” (The Atlantic 12/16/21).
• Two years of trauma have pushed droves of healthcare workers, including many of the most experienced and committed, to quit their jobs. The remaining staff is ever more exhausted and demoralized, and “exceptionally high numbers” cannot work because they got breakthrough infections and had to be separated from vulnerable patients.
• Vaccines are not the only solution to decreasing the spreading of the virus. What are the other strategies to help end the pandemic?

    o better masks
    o improved ventilation
    o rapid tests
    o places where sick people can easily isolate
    o paid sick leave and other policies that protect essential workers
    o social distancing
    o a stronger public-health system
    o retaining the frayed healthcare workforce

Instead of trying to beat the coronavirus one booster at a time, the country needs to do what it has always needed to do—build systems and enact policies that protect the health of entire communities (The Atlantic 12/16/21).
     
The future behavior of the virus is unknown. We could experience endemics – with the holding of the virus in a tenuous stalemate. But there are other unknowns: If two variants or more end up co-circulating, then what we are seeing now is little league action compared to the major league action of what can happen with multiple variants at the same time. Like the previous variants, Omicron requires individuals to think and act for the collective good, and we have failed at this. We are witnessing defiance (like two-year olds having their temper tantrums) with too many people acting irrationally and stubbornly. We know the measures that work and even our public leaders are in denial. Yet our doctors and nurses are begging us to listen because they have the knowledge. We might want to believe that it will only impact the healthcare workers (and that in itself is a disgrace that many don’t care), but this crisis will trickle down to all of us. “Self-interest is self-defeating, and as long as its hosts ignore that lesson, the virus will keep teaching it.” (The Atlantic 12/16/21).

Sources

1. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/12/america-omicron-variant-surge-booster/621027/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=atlantic-daily-newsletter&utm_content=20211216&utm_term=The%20Atlantic%20Daily
2. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/08/opinion/covid-michigan-surge.html?campaign_id=2&emc=edit_th_20211209&instance_id=47210&nl=todaysheadlines&regi_id=38880717&segment_id=76501&user_id=84c20c0fc176cb81ea3bb1ada54911fe
   
3. Medscape December 2021

Charlotte Michos is a clinical nurse specialist who values personal-centered care and serves as a Healthcare Consultant in helping others make informed decisions. For more information, email her or call (845) 548-5980.