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.

Ramping up here. We are not overwhelmed but big staffing shortages affecting entire units due to quarantines are becoming an issue. We just got word that we can expect to be reassigned to inpatient within the next week or two to cover. God help the patients that get me. I’ve never done a day of adult inpatient care in my entire career. ?

4 Votes
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

We have around 125 people inpatient as of today here at my hospital in DFW. All covid units are back open and operational. Continued major staffing issues; bringing in travelers like mad. Staff falling ill like mad. Tons of Halloween parties held around here without social distancing or the right kind of masks. I dread how its going to be after Thanksgiving/Christmas if they can't control themselves for Halloween.  

4 Votes
7 hours ago, Wuzzie said:

Ramping up here. We are not overwhelmed but big staffing shortages affecting entire units due to quarantines are becoming an issue. We just got word that we can expect to be reassigned to inpatient within the next week or two to cover. God help the patients that get me. I’ve never done a day of adult inpatient care in my entire career. ?

You may well be assigned to work as a "helper" rather than given a full assignment.  For our surge, we had some staff working in the hospital from closed offices, but none took assignments. Truthfully, many of the unlicensed staff weren't THAT helpful because they weren't willing/able to provide direct patient care.  But having a helper RN who could grab meds from the omnicell was a godsend when I was all geared up in a COVID room, and discovered a patient needed a PRN.

And interestingly, we've been told that if we have another surge, we will NOT be getting backup from redeployed staff.  The PACU staff will stay in PACU, and not become ICU helpers.  Outpatient offices and clinics will remain open, and their staff will stay put.  The network can't financially survive if they shut everything else down to just do COVID again.

3 Votes
Specializes in Emergency Room.

https://www.kare11.com/mobile/article/news/health/coronavirus/live-updates-covid-19-cases-in-minnesota/89-8c08e7e3-87d9-4399-bc5e-e1a09f0ea2c8

"ICU use nearing capacity in Minnesota"

The biggest hurdle right now at our facility is staffing. We are now diverting patients to other facilities because of lack of beds or more often lack of staff to care for more patients. It seems, though, that We may reach a point where there is nowhere to transfer them to.  We are seeing many, many more Covid cases in The ED as well as ICU. Things are not looking good here in The Northland!

2 Votes
7 hours ago, turtlesRcool said:

You may well be assigned to work as a "helper" rather than given a full assignment.

Sadly no. We will be given a full assignment with a team leader overseeing 4 of us. We got one shift as an orientation. I’d rather be in the ICU as that is the the environment I’m most comfortable in. 

3 Votes
Specializes in ICU.

Ft Lauderdale, FL

after simmering around 4-7 cases in hospital since before labor day, cases now consistently over 12, for over a week, with more critical care patients that will remain for weeks.

2 Votes
Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Wuzzie - they really expect you to do that after never doing acute care? That is crazy.

These reports certainly sound bad. I understand them not feeling they can shut down the non-Covid services and still survive financially, but where will they find more staff? 

 

 

2 Votes
1 minute ago, CrunchRN said:

Wuzzie - they really expect you to do that after never doing acute care? That is crazy.

I think because I've done critical care they think I should be fine but acute onc is an entirely different animal. I've never had more than 2 patients at a time (except in the ED) and usually only one. Granted they've all been super sick with a ton to do and I'm no slouch as a nurse but jeebus I'm not at all excited about this. 

5 Votes
Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

I bet. Will you be on a Covid unit or regular medsurg floor?

1 Votes
59 minutes ago, CrunchRN said:

I bet. Will you be on a Covid unit or regular medsurg floor?

Acute onc or heme transplant. 

2 Votes
Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Wow. Those are intense units. Hope they change course.

 

1 Votes
Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

PA state exploding in cases.  DELCO is in Philadelphia PA suburb.  In the eastern part of county next door to Philly, Trinity Health Mid Atlantic's  Mercy Fitzgerald nurses gave strike notice; strike date 11/16 due to staffing issues -wants ratios in contract with new hospital owner.  Article reinforces insufficient essential health care workers   Karen

DELCO TIMES 11/12/20

Delco ERs filling to capacity with new COVID cases

Quote

 

...By Monday, all Delaware County hospitals were forced to divert patients because they had reached capacity or did not have sufficient essential health care workers. Even Thursday, three out of Delaware County's five hospitals were on divert, meaning they had to tell people coming to their emergency rooms to seek help elsewhere....

...Delaware County's incident rate at 223 cases per 100,000 people as of Thursday and the positivity rate at 9.1 percent....

...significant number of exposures are coming from gatherings - both large and small from religious celebrations to backyard picnics to dinner parties to wedding and funerals. She added that ancillary activities related to extracurricular activities, such as hanging out in locker rooms and team sports pictures, have also been problematic....

 

 

1 Votes
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