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(WXYZ) – State health executives, including executives from Henry Ford, Beaumont and Spectrum Health Systems, joined on Thursday to sound the alarm bells over the outbreak of COVID-19 cases in Michigan.
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Health officials have urged residents to exercise caution, limit gatherings, practice good hygiene and continue with social distancing measures as cases and deaths continue to rise in recent weeks.
Gerry Anderson, executive chairman of DTE Energy, which hosted the call Thursday morning, warned: “It’s safe to say that a slowdown is nowhere in sight.”
The warning comes as Michigan sees a record number of new cases and an increase in hospitalizations from the virus.
Statewide in the past 26 days alone, there has been a 215% increase in hospitalizations related to COVID-19, a 146% increase in the number of patients on ventilators, and a 137% increase in the number of patients in intensive care.
With the increase in hospitalizations, hospitals like Henry Ford and Beaumont are also limiting visits in an attempt to stop the spread.
The CEOs of six Michigan health systems, including Henry Ford, were involved in the announcement.
Brian Peters, chief executive of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association, said people need to understand the severity of this virus.
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“Given what we’re seeing here in western Michigan, we’re very worried that if large groups start to come together, the spread will continue even more,” said Dr. David Elmochi, president of Spectrum Health.
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The head of Spectrum Health, which includes 12 hospitals, says the system is approaching capacity in the traditional sense, as the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has tripled in the past 20 days.
“We still have space now, but this room is relatively limited,” said Dr Elmochi. “We converted other floors into COVID units, converted rooms that weren’t intensive care rooms into intensive care rooms. And what we learned from hospitals in Detroit and New York at the start of the pandemic , that you can absolutely increase the capacity if you really need to. ”
Here in the Detroit subway, hospitalizations are also increasing. Over the past 22 days, there has been a 202% increase in hospitalizations related to COVID-19, according to those responsible for the appeal.
Statewide, the numbers are also climbing in the wrong direction, surpassing the records set in the spring.
Thursday’s announcement included updates from those responsible for these major healthcare systems, all battling the strain of this second wave:
- Beaumont CEO John Fox
- Henry Ford, Health System CEO, Wright Lassiter III
- Ed Ness, President and CEO of Munson Healthcare
- Tina Freese Decker, CEO and President of Spectrum Health
- Brian Peters, CEO of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association
- Gar Atchison, CEO and Market President at UP Health System
In the spring, the TCF center was converted to meet hospital capacity. TCF even relied on FEMA to help site staff.
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