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Recently, Sanford’s Fargo Hospitals have been operating at or near full capacity, with a relatively small COVID-19 inpatient population fluctuating between upper and lower 20 teens over the past two weeks.
At the peak of November 9 and 10, Sanford treated 116 hospitalized patients with COVID-19, a level five or six times higher than current admissions. As the next wave looms, hospitals are swarming with patients with other illnesses, including some whose treatment has been delayed.
“If we see an increase, we could very well look like Louisiana or Florida,” said Dr. Doug Griffin, Sanford vice president and chief medical officer at Fargo Wednesday, Aug. 25. “It could mean that some people might have to wait. It will tax resources.
Some hospitals in southern states including Louisiana and Florida where the delta variant produced huge spikes in COVID-19 cases requiring hospitalization, some hospitals ran out of capacity and had to transport patients.
During the COVID-19 outbreak last fall, hospitals in Sanford had many beds available because people were avoiding hospitals and delaying care.
“It looks a little different this time around,” Griffin said. “We are very, very busy.
“We could reach hospitalization numbers that would be very close to what we experienced last fall, which is very trying.”
As of Tuesday, August 24, the most recent figures available, Sanford, Essentia and Fargo VA Medical Center combined had 25 staffed beds, including 14 intensive care unit beds.
COVID-19 infections continue to rise rapidly in North Dakota. On Wednesday, the state reported 364 new cases and 1,843 active cases – more than four times the 449 active cases reported on August 1.
Sanford’s surge capacity last year was met with the help of traveling nurses, who are now harder and more expensive to hire, Griffin said. Hospitals in North Dakota pay companies that provide mobile nurses between $ 175 and $ 200 an hour.
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Elsewhere in the country, some hospitals have discussed refusing unvaccinated patients who have COVID-19 to make room for other patients in need of scarce hospital beds.
“I can’t imagine we would do this,” Griffin said. “We wouldn’t fire them. “
Hospitals treat people with health problems caused or exacerbated by bad decisions all the time, but they advise and treat these patients, he said.
Still, Griffin fears Sanford may have to transport some patients. During the wave last fall, Sanford accepted transport for patients from elsewhere in North Dakota and Minnesota.
Additionally, an increase in admissions due to COVID could mean that some patients will have to wait longer in the emergency room, and other patients will have to delay elective procedures.
“It’s a risk to other patients,” Griffin said. “We don’t like it, but that’s kind of what could happen.”
Triage, where patients are screened and those with the most urgent needs are treated first, takes place regularly in hospital emergency departments.
“It’s not a new concept,” Griffin said.
Hospital staffing remains a challenge, from housekeeping and food service to nursing and other direct care roles, he said.
Doctors, nurses and other caregivers are frustrated that more people have not been vaccinated, allowing the delta variant of the coronavirus to spread rapidly and strain hospitals.
“It’s frustrating,” Griffin said. “We are concerned as an organization. We had a bit of a break, ”allowing for a period of relative normality before the delta variant emerges. “I think the hard part about it is we kind of know what to expect. This gives the caregivers a bit of apprehension.
Because safe and effective vaccines have been widely available for months and masking and other mitigation measures are known, “There is a feeling that much of this could have been avoided,” he said. -he declares.
Some caregivers took early retirement, became itinerant nurses, or changed careers. But mainly, Griffin said, caregivers remain in their roles, despite the challenges of a protracted pandemic. Sanford does not expect a “mass exodus”.
“We did everything we could to hold back our people,” he said. “We are concerned about morale. “
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