Covid and Hospitals: How are things now?

toomuchbaloney · Jul 8, 2021

26 minutes ago, NRSKarenRN said:

Washington Post 7/6/2021

Appalachian highlands Covid deniers

Their neighbors called covid-19 a hoax. Can these ICU nurses forgive them?

For the nurses in the Appalachian highlands who risked their lives during the pandemic, it is as if they fought in a war no one acknowledges.

What a conundrum.

Let's hope that this virus starts to mutate in less dangerous ways because we're not going to have adequate vaccination coverage to save us from outbreaks in the fall. IMV

CrunchRN, ADN, RN · Jul 8, 2021

Thank you for those updates.

Our vaccination rate here is pretty good, but among those at highest risk it is still deplorable. My University partnered with the county and took the vaccines and outreach into the high risk communities and it was a dismal failure. Even partnered with those communities leaders etc.

I also believe it will get quite ugly for the unvaccinated this fall. I sure hope this is not what happens, but without being able to overcome the fear of the vaccine I am afraid for those communities.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jul 9, 2021

Springfield Missouri hospitals --major call out for Respiratory Therapists

CrunchRN, ADN, RN · Jul 12, 2021

That is not good for sure NRSKaren. I wish the general public could see the patients in ICU struggling for their lives and get a dose of reality.

gere7404, BSN, RN · Jul 13, 2021

What’s reality, though? The few cases severe enough to end up in the ICU of the majority of cases that never need to seek medical care?

Are both reality? Or are they mutually exclusive realities to some people?

CrunchRN, ADN, RN · Jul 13, 2021

4 hours ago, gere7404 said:

What’s reality, though? The few cases severe enough to end up in the ICU of the majority of cases that never need to seek medical care?

Are both reality? Or are they mutually exclusive realities to some people?

I do get your point, but when those cases overwhelm the resources of our medical system then you cannot really just let it run its course yet I wouldn't think.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jul 18, 2021

NY Times:

In Undervaccinated Arkansas, Covid Upends Life All Over Again

Quote

While much of the nation tiptoes toward normalcy, the coronavirus is again swamping hospitals in places like Mountain Home, in a rural county where fewer than one-third of residents are vaccinated....

...“It’s absolutely flooded,” said Dr. Rebecca Martin, a pulmonologist, as she made the rounds of 2 West one morning last week.

In the first half of June, the hospital averaged only one or two Covid-19 patients a day. On Thursday, 22 of the unit’s 32 beds were filled with coronavirus patients. Five more were in intensive care. In a single week, the number of Covid patients had jumped by one-third.

Overall, Arkansas ranks near the bottom of states in the share of population that is vaccinated. Only 44 percent of residents have received at least one shot...

...At Baxter Regional, many doctors and nurses are girding for another wave while still exhausted from battling the pandemic they thought had abated.

“I started having flashbacks, like PTSD,” said Dr. Martin, the pulmonologist, who obsesses over her patients’ care. “This is going to sound very selfish but unfortunately it’s true: The fact that people won’t get vaccinated means I can’t go home and see my kids for dinner.”...

... Even health care workers have balked. Statewide, only about 40 percent are vaccinated, Dr. Romero said.

In April, the state legislature added yet another roadblock, making it essentially illegal for any state or local entity, including public hospitals, to require coronavirus vaccination as a condition of education or employment until two years after the Food and Drug Administration fully licenses a shot. That almost certainly means no such requirements can be issued until late in 2023....

JVBT, ASN · Jul 18, 2021

Question for those nurses working with patients staying in your facility two weeks or even longer: how do things go in your setting with patients who refuse to get vaccinated?

Delia37, MSN · Jul 21, 2021

On 10/20/2020 at 4:47 AM, CrunchRN said:

Just curious. Here in DFW I see hospitalizations are rising to 14%. How are things in the hospitals? Are things relatively normal? No more furloughs?

Please share. I am not in acute care, but I am of course very interested in the effects on acute care staff.

...our numbers are going up. we went from zero cares for almost 3 months to (as of yesterday) 16 in-house; really scary, indeed. ?

CrunchRN, ADN, RN · Jul 21, 2021

Are they unvaccinated, younger, or? Thanks for the update Delia37

emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jul 26, 2021

We’re ramping up again. My area has a pretty good vaccination rate but we’re still seeing a surprising number of people who aren’t vaccinated.

toomuchbaloney · Jul 27, 2021

On 7/18/2021 at 7:40 AM, JVBT said:

Question for those nurses working with patients staying in your facility two weeks or even longer: how do things go in your setting with patients who refuse to get vaccinated?

I'm pretty certain that the facility gets to decide who stays in the designated rooms based upon criteria that is communicated to the residents. Most skilled nursing facilities are privately owned by either for profit or not-for-profit entities. The AMA and ANA just released a joint statement that urges all health care workers to be vaccinated.

It stands to reason that going forward, people may find that they might have difficulty finding a skilled nursing or rehab facility that will accommodate unvaccinated residents. The facilities may view that as unacceptable risk.