[ad_1]
As hospitals in California braced this week for an increase in the number of COVID-19 patients infected over Christmas, officials have relayed painful stories of the last moments of death with their families.
“One of the most heartbreaking conversations our healthcare workers share is about these last words when kids apologize to their parents and grandparents for bringing COVID into their homes for making them sick. And these apologies are just some of the last words loved ones will hear when they die alone, ”said Hilda Solis, Los Angeles County Supervisor. “Please, for your loved ones, stay at home. Stay safe. Keep your loved ones alive. ”
Officials believe the current spike was in part due to family reunions around Thanksgiving and Christmas which allowed younger people, who were more likely to be on the move, to spread COVID-19 to their elders, who had otherwise tend to stay at home.
“The situation is more serious than ever, which is why I will share some stories from our local hospitals,” Solis said. “Dying from COVID in hospital means dying alone. Visitors are not allowed to enter hospitals for their own safety. Families share their final farewells on tablets and mobile phones. “
Ventura County Medical Center’s intensive care unit doctor Dr Mark Lepore said last week that too many families are bringing critically ill loved ones to hospital too late.
“They worry that when they leave they won’t come back alive,” Lepore said.
Lepore said he was forced to have difficult conversations with critically ill patients upon their arrival, explaining treatment they could receive to keep them alive, such as turning them over on their stomachs for easier breathing and l ‘administering pressurized oxygen through a mask when their blood oxygen level drops too low.
But if that doesn’t work, Lepore said, he asked patients if they wanted to be placed on a ventilator – which involves inserting a tube into their trachea attached to a machine to help them breathe and breathe. be sedated – or if they would. rather, just to be made comfortable when they die.
The chance of surviving COVID-19 once a patient is placed on a ventilator is between 20% and 60%. The discussion is difficult, said Lepore. “And if it got to the point that after you put you on a respirator, your heart had to stop, we wouldn’t do CPR on you because that wouldn’t work – because the disease would have set in,” Lepore told patients. .
Lepore said it is imperative that people seek medical attention if they experience shortness of breath. “Even if the hospitals are full, you have to go get treatment or call your doctor,” he says. People can buy a device called a pulse oximeter to monitor their blood oxygen levels, and if the level is below 90%, that means you need to call the emergency department, Lepore said.
“The longer you wait for this disease, the less likely we are to give you some of the therapies that can help you overcome this disease,” he added.
A doctor at a Los Angeles County public hospital said families unable to be there for their dying loved ones were devastated.
Working in the intensive care unit, where caregivers can do little to save critically ill patients, the doctor said he heard “families cry on the phone in the agony that their loved one is in the process of. pass away. … Most people leave when they die. We spend our days calling families to let them know that their loved one has exhausted all medical treatment and is going to die despite our best efforts.
Solis noted that more than 200 people in LA County die from COVID-19 every day and that hospitals are on the verge of having to ration care, where doctors would choose which patients get treatment and which don’t.
Due to staffing issues, a private LA County hospital declared an internal disaster on Monday, meaning the hospital is so overwhelmed that the emergency room is closed to all incoming ambulances, according to the director of services. County Health Officer Dr. Christina Ghaly.
The coronavirus is so widespread that in southern California at least one in five people who get tested for the virus, or about 15,000 a day, test positive.
Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer on Monday pleaded with the public to stay home as much as possible. When leaving home to access essential services, she urged people to bring disinfectant wipes so they can wipe down their phones, keys, workstations and doorknobs – whatever they touch that others have. touch.
Ferrer also issued a new recommendation that people who need to go out – and live in a household with an elderly person or someone with underlying health conditions – begin wearing masks at home to protect them.
“Because there is so much spread, we also recommend that people keep their masks on while they are inside the house,” Ferrer said. For anyone who works the outdoors or is the person doing essential groceries in the family, wearing a mask around the house “will just add a layer of protection as we go through the surge.”
People should also make sure that frequently touched surfaces are disinfected, that utensils are not shared and, if possible, that bedrooms and bathrooms are not shared with the most vulnerable.
“Now is the time to be extremely careful and very careful. We cannot ease our efforts yet – neither now nor for the next few weeks. Every minute, an average of 10 people in LA County test positive for COVID-19, ”Ferrer said.
Ferrer reiterated that infected people can pass the virus on to others for two or more days before showing symptoms themselves. At least 10% to 12% of people infected with the virus are hospitalized and more than 1% of people diagnosed with the virus eventually die, Ferrer said.
“The damaging impact of this surge on our families and our local hospitals is the worst disaster our county has seen in decades,” Ferrer said.
Ferrer said officials have done a lot in recent months to try to control the virus – banning gatherings, inspecting workplaces, imposing fines. “But that was insufficient, because the most important factor in all of this depends on the individuals taking the appropriate action,” Ferrer said. “We have to make sure everyone survives to benefit from the vaccine.”
“Now is not the time to meet friends back home to watch the game. Now is not the time to go for a walk without covering your face. All it takes is one mistake, and soon five, 10 or 20 more people are infected, ”Ferrer said. “The most important way to stop it in its tracks is to avoid interactions with others and to protect ourselves at all times.”
[ad_2]
Source link