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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A third hospital in Alaska has crisis protocols in place that allow it to ration care if necessary as the state has recorded the worst rates of COVID-19 diagnosis in the United States. United in recent days, straining its limited healthcare system.
According to data collected by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, one in 84 people in Alaska was diagnosed with COVID-19 from September 22 to 29. The second highest rate was one in 164 people in West Virginia. .
Fairbanks Memorial Hospital said on Friday it had activated the Standards of Care Crisis Policy due to a severe shortage of beds, staff and monoclonal antibody treatments, as well as the inability to transfer patients to others. establishments.
In mid-September, Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, the state’s largest hospital, invoked the policy, as did the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. for its Bethel hospital in southwest Alaska.
“The move to crisis care standards is not something we take lightly,” Fairbanks chief medical officer Dr. Angelique Ramirez said in a statement. “This is in response to a very serious wave of COVID in our community. “
The move came the same day the state reported 1,044 new cases, including 108 in the Fairbanks area. The hospital said on Saturday that 35% of its patients were being treated for COVID-19.
As of March 2020, there have been a total of 110,850 COVID-19 cases in Alaska, which has a population of approximately 731,000. More than 24,000 new cases were reported in September, as the delta variant led to a spike in cases in Alaska, which has never had a statewide mask warrant.
The state’s health department said a total of 2,432 people have been hospitalized and 557 Alaskans have died.
Statewide, 60% of eligible Alaskans are fully immunized. The borough of Fairbanks North Star is the third worst region for vaccination rates in Alaska, with just under 52% of eligible residents vaccinated.
Officials from Foundation Health Partners, owner of Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, have encouraged community members to wear masks and get vaccinated if possible.
Ramirez said the decision to upgrade to crisis standards was due to many factors, including the spread in the community caused by low vaccination rates and the high number of patients awaiting admission.
“It impacts all patient care, those with broken bones, trauma, heart attacks, strokes, COVID, anyone in need of medical attention,” Ramirez said. “The care that we are able to provide is very fluid and can change from day to day and even hour to hour depending on the availability of resources within our system and in the United States.”
She also stressed that people do not delay medical care even if the system is at full capacity. “You will always receive the best and most compassionate care we can provide at the time,” said Ramirez.
The state has contracted nearly 500 Lower 48 healthcare professionals to help alleviate the staffing shortage.
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