Nursing shortage meets COVID-19 outbreak at Houston hospital

HOUSTON – An increase in the number of COVID-19 patients, due to the highly contagious Delta variant, is creating problems for hospitals across Texas.

Locally, Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital says it is overwhelmed and needs more nurses.

Just a week ago, the hospital reported that patients were waiting 24 hours in their emergency rooms before being transferred to inpatient rooms. And at one point, 130 people were waiting to be seen last Sunday.

Earlier this week, an 11-month-old girl with COVID-19 who was initially admitted to Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital had to be taken to a hospital 170 miles from Temple. Officials said transportation was necessary because LBJ does not provide pediatric inpatient care and none of the major pediatric hospitals in the Houston area had beds available.

The hospital is in the throes of an internal disaster, which means the hospital is off-grid for patients coming from places like the Houston Fire Department ambulances.

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Texas Medical Center said hospitalizations over the past month had increased 400%.

MP Sheila Jackson Lee pleaded Sunday for state officials to intervene.

“Governor Abbott, I want you to know that Harris County hospitals have indicated they are in catastrophic internal condition,” she said.