UK healthcare is overflowing with COVID-19 patients

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Many hospitals in Kentucky are overrun with COVID-19 patients.

UK HealthCare in Lexington is no exception. They say they currently have the most Covid patients they have had at any given time since the start of the pandemic. At present, they have more than 150 Covid patients, including about 15 children.

56 Covid patients are in intensive care and 34 are on ventilators.

UK officials at HealthCare say this is straining hospital resources. Many non-ICU beds have been converted to ICU beds. They say more healthcare workers are needed to treat these covid patients who are showing themselves to be much sicker with the virus.

“We are looking to reduce our volume of operations and to smooth these surgical schedules to better meet the needs of people in-house,” said Dr Ashley Montgomery-Yates, UK HealthCare’s chief medical officer for health care services. hospitalization and emergency.

To make matters worse, officials say the hospital is already facing a shortage of nurses. They fear the recent increase is preventing non-covid patients from getting the help they need.

The Kentucky Children’s Hospital is also seeing an increase in numbers. Authorities say more children test positive for covid and more are showing symptoms from the highly contagious delta variant.

“When we could say that children are protected from covid, this is no longer really true. It affects parents, grandparents, and anyone else who is linked with having a sick child, ”said Dr. Lindsay Ragsdale, of the Pediatric Advanced Care Team at Kentucky Children’s Hospital.

UK officials at HealthVare reiterated that this virus is having a huge impact on unvaccinated people. They are urging those eligible to get vaccinated, including children and adolescents.

Authorities are asking people not to go to the emergency room for a COVID-19 test.

They also encourage people to get the flu shot. They say an increase in the number of influenza and RSV could further limit hospital capacity.

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