Covid and Hospitals: How are things now?

Nurses COVID

Updated:   Published

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.

1 hour ago, CrunchRN said:

Those numbers sure show how much the nursing staff have dealt with Wuzzie. Crazy,

 

The thing is this isn't new. Covid has just ripped the lid off the Pandora's box that nursing and healthcare has been for decades. 

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Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.
2 hours ago, DesiDani said:

Some reflection. Just thinking about that thread which mentions how a patient refusing her immune compromise husband to be treated by an unvaccinated nurse, despite that nurse properly wearing PPE.  Now nurses are allowed to work while COVID positive if they are vaccinated. 

Oh the future dilemmas now.

What we don't know is if those nurses are allowed to work with covid neg patients.  There are plenty of covid pos. not acutely ill (with covid) for them to work with.

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4 hours ago, DesiDani said:

Some reflection. Just thinking about that thread which mentions how a patient refusing her immune compromise husband to be treated by an unvaccinated nurse, despite that nurse properly wearing PPE.  Now nurses are allowed to work while COVID positive if they are vaccinated. 

Oh the future dilemmas now.


What do you mean when you say ”oh the future dilemmas now”? Tone can be quite hard to decipher over the internet but it almost sounds as if you are either questioning the legitimacy of wanting a vaccinated nurse or mocking the feelings of concern and fear that an ”immune compromise” patient, or their loved one, might experience when receiving care from an unvaccinated healthcare professional?

Even when PPE is used, the fact that a healthcare worker is vaccinated offers an extra layer of protection for the immunocompromised patient. And likely reduces the stress they experience when being in situations where they have to be much closer to ”strangers” (the healthcare professional), than what is recommended in the current pandemic situation. 

By the way, I doubt that most hospitals will think it a good idea to let Covid positive healthcare professionals work on oncology, transplant units and the like, even in the current situation with staff shortages.

 

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18 hours ago, macawake said:


What do you mean when you say ”oh the future dilemmas now”? Tone can be quite hard to decipher over the internet but it almost sounds as if you are either questioning the legitimacy of wanting a vaccinated nurse or mocking the feelings of concern and fear that an ”immune compromise” patient, or their loved one, might experience when receiving care from an unvaccinated healthcare professional?

Even when PPE is used, the fact that a healthcare worker is vaccinated offers an extra layer of protection for the immunocompromised patient. And likely reduces the stress they experience when being in situations where they have to be much closer to ”strangers” (the healthcare professional), than what is recommended in the current pandemic situation. 

By the way, I doubt that most hospitals will think it a good idea to let Covid positive healthcare professionals work on oncology, transplant units and the like, even in the current situation with staff shortages.

 

Situations are changing and standards will change as a result. At least they will be vaccinated so all is good. Yeah

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Specializes in informatics for 10 years.

In the past 4 weeks, have had 2 family members who are boosterized with pfizer end up in the hospital with covid. One in her late 50's living in California, another one in her late 40's who lives in Florida.

I just spoke to one last night and she said that while in the Florida ER waiting to be admitted, she met another person who was vaxxed with covid and her floor nurse told her that they are seeing a lot of vaccinated people admitted to the hospital.

I must say, from the little news I read, I was under the impression that not many vaccinated are making it to the hospital.  What are you guys actually experiencing? I was trying to find the data, but unlike in Europe, it seems that in the USA they are not breaking the data by series of shots given.

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Specializes in Emergency Room, CEN, TCRN.

The area I’m in requires proof of vaccination to eat out and enter businesses, so there’s a very high vaccination rate. Seeing tons of breakthrough infections in vaccinated and boosted pts, but not seeing many people vaxxed or otherwise admitted specifically for covid this current wave. 
 

the vaaast majority of cases I’m seeing are way more mild, it’s not like delta where we were tubing several people every night and getting people walking in satting in the 60s.

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Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.
3 hours ago, ikarus01 said:

In the past 4 weeks, have had 2 family members who are boosterized with pfizer end up in the hospital with covid. One in her late 50's living in California, another one in her late 40's who lives in Florida.

I just spoke to one last night and she said that while in the Florida ER waiting to be admitted, she met another person who was vaxxed with covid and her floor nurse told her that they are seeing a lot of vaccinated people admitted to the hospital.

I must say, from the little news I read, I was under the impression that not many vaccinated are making it to the hospital.  What are you guys actually experiencing? I was trying to find the data, but unlike in Europe, it seems that in the USA they are not breaking the data by series of shots given.

It is true that vulnerable vaxxed people can be admitted to the hospital.  They just aren't (with few exceptions) winding up in ICU's.

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On 1/15/2022 at 9:08 AM, gere7404 said:

The area I’m in requires proof of vaccination to eat out and enter businesses, so there’s a very high vaccination rate. Seeing tons of breakthrough infections in vaccinated and boosted pts, but not seeing many people vaxxed or otherwise admitted specifically for covid this current wave. 
 

the vaaast majority of cases I’m seeing are way more mild, it’s not like delta where we were tubing several people every night and getting people walking in satting in the 60s.

Yes, I'm also seeing the people who are not immunocompromised and are fully vaccinated (including booster for those immunized >5 months ago) are more likely to be admitted WITH COVID than FOR COVID. 

Unfortunately, we have to use the same isolation precautions for the unvaccinated person on 60L/min heated high flow as we use for the COVID positive but vaccinated little old lady there with a fracture after a fall, even though she's not on a lick of supplemental O2. Those with incidental COVID positivity do take up more resources than those who don't require isolation, so total COVID numbers are useful in that sense, but don't really let you know how "bad" COVID itself is this wave.

Staffing is another issue. We are still very short staffed, and I don't know how much is influx of patients and how much is lack of staff. Some combo I expect. The vaccine mandate went into effect back in October, so basically all employees have at least the first series, but breakthroughs happen. We are not allowed to work COVID+, and our hospital has mandated that all staff members with patient contact wear an N95 or KN95. Unlike wearing the fit-tested N95 to protect us from COVID+ patients, this is for 'source control' to minimize the chances of a staff member unknowingly passing COVID to a patient, which apparently has happened.  

Our community vaccination rates are really good, but the positivity rates are still through the roof with mild cases, and it can be hard to find tests. Two of my kids are COVID+ now, but my hospital won't test me unless I experience symptoms, so we're all wearing masks in the house and I'm wearing an N95 whenever we're in the same room, and doing serial home tests. So far, I've been negative twice, and have another kit hoarded to test before I go back to work on Tuesday. Frankly, I was kind of hoping/expecting employee health to give me a PCR when I called to let them know about the exposure, but it looks like I'm on my own here.

Sigh. It feels like every time we think we're getting ahead of it, COVID comes and knocks us back down. Still, we're better off than the Spring of 2020 when we had refrigerated trucks for morgue overflow. I just have to keep reminding myself of how much we've learned and how many more resources we have than when we started.

 

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On 1/15/2022 at 9:33 AM, subee said:

They just aren't (with few exceptions) winding up in ICU's.

So does that mean if you are not vaccinated and get COVID you are likely 100% (with a few exceptions)  guaranteed to end up in the ICU and then die. That if you do get COVID and if you are not vaccinated you will definitely end up hospitalized. With a few exceptions of course.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
21 minutes ago, DesiDani said:

So does that mean if you are not vaccinated and get COVID you are likely 100% (with a few exceptions)  guaranteed to end up in the ICU and then die. That if you do get COVID and if you are not vaccinated you will definitely end up hospitalized. With a few exceptions of course.

Are you trying to make a point with exaggeration and hyperbole or do you actually believe what you posted?

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1 hour ago, toomuchbaloney said:

Are you trying to make a point with exaggeration and hyperbole or do you actually believe what you posted?

Irony. Is it true or not? Will anyone who is not vaccinated either die or may eventually be the cause of others to die because they will spread COVID?

Isn't that the desired and only message that should be shared about vaccines?

Wait...why is it an exaggeration in my post?

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
24 minutes ago, DesiDani said:

Irony. Is it true or not? Will anyone who is not vaccinated either die or may eventually be the cause of others to die because they will spread COVID?

Isn't that the desired and only message that should be shared about vaccines?

Wait...why is it an exaggeration in my post?

Leave me out of your crazy hyperbole as you struggle to make some point using things (Emotion? Guesswork? Exaggeration?) other than facts or evidence. You don't know what exaggeration is?

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