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The second wave of COVID-19 is here, but the Northwest Community Hospital is better prepared to deal with the expected influx of patients now compared to the initial surge in the spring, the chief medical officer said. ‘hospital.
Like other leaders in suburban health care, Dr Alan Loren has observed the increase in the number of cases in recent weeks and has started to see more patient admissions to Arlington Heights Hospital. Illinois set a single-day high of 12,438 positive coronavirus cases on Saturday, breaking the previous record – set Friday – of 20%.
But Loren expressed confidence that the Northwest Community is in a better position to handle this surge, which is escalating even faster than the initial outbreak.
“We certainly have a better understanding of the virus and how to treat it,” Loren said, adding that the drug Remdesivir is more readily available, which helps reduce length of hospital stays.
Better treatment has also meant fewer people in the intensive care unit or on a ventilator, Loren said. The capacity in these areas is acceptable at the moment, he said, as are the staffing levels.
The hospital was also able to store personal protective equipment for its staff in preparation for the second wave, Loren said.
Hospital officials are more concerned about bed capacity as the number continues to rise.
The 509-bed hospital was treating 70 patients with COVID-19 on Friday – a number that continued to rise over the next four weeks. It previously hovered between 10 and 12 at a time for several months after peaking at 109 in May, officials said.
Northwest Community was among the first hospitals in Illinois to treat a patient with COVID-19 in February.
To date, the hospital has treated more than 1,000 patients with respiratory disease, but many more have been outpatients in a specialized COVID-19 clinic, the healthcare system set up in the Palatine. People with a positive COVID-19 case or symptoms may first see a doctor and be referred to hospital if their condition worsens. Some have virtual follow-up visits with doctors.
Loren says the hospital has also admitted a slightly younger population with the virus. He believes nursing homes have been more successful in containing epidemics.
Depending on other health issues a patient may have, the length of their hospital stay can vary from a few days to several weeks, Loren said.
Like other medical professionals, Loren predicted that it would take several months, if not a full year, to bring the disease under control, given how long it will take to develop a vaccine and deploy it.
“It will definitely get worse before it gets better,” Loren said, fearing an increase in COVID-19 cases with more gatherings indoors during the winter. “In order to fight this disease, it’s really a multi-faceted approach. It’s a treatment, a vaccine, a masking – it all comes together.”
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