[ad_1]
LIMA – Ohio hospital leaders warned Monday that the latest wave of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations is depleting the state’s health workforce supply and could quickly force hospitals to oust non-care COVID-19 if the trend is not reversed.
The incredibly high rate of community transmission is of particular concern in areas of Allen, Auglaize and Putnam counties, which have seen the highest per capita rates of new COVID-19 cases in the state for much of the past. ‘autumn. More health workers and caregivers are at risk of becoming infected or needing to self-quarantine, further complicating problems with hospital staffing.
“We talk a lot about bed capacity, and we think of tents being erected and people occupying civic centers, different places to see patients. And that’s not the situation we’re in, ”said Ronda Lehman, president of Mercy Health Lima marketplace, at a special press conference hosted by Governor Mike DeWine on Monday. “I think because of that, it might be a bit invisible for people walking around the community to know what’s going on inside the walls of their local hospital.
Hospitals in Lima have seen a significant increase in COVID-19-related hospitalizations since October, prompting hospital leaders to seek the public’s help in slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
Mercy Health-St. Rita’s medical center alone saw its COVID-19 patient population drop from 17 on October 5 to 75 on Monday. Likewise, the Lima Memorial Health System has admitted more COVID-19 patients since October and put strict visitor restrictions in place on Friday to protect patients and staff from exposure to the virus.
As Lehman is optimistic about the next vaccine, she reminded residents of Ohio that small changes like wearing a mask in public or refusing invitations to social gatherings can lower transmission rates before that the vaccine is available.
“I implore you to recompose it, to reduce it,” she said. “I know we want to be there. I know we want our small businesses to continue to operate and be successful. It’s not an or, IMHO. We can do it. We can survive because we all choose to adopt better behaviors that we reinforce over and over again. “
DeWine has been reluctant to institute new restrictions despite the exponential increase in new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, in stark contrast to the state’s response at the start of the pandemic.
Hospital officials present at Monday’s press conference were also reluctant to call for further restrictions, noting that today’s push is mainly fueled by social gatherings where people let their guard down.
[ad_2]
Source link