COVID-19 News - United States: While Official Data Claims COVID-19 Cases Decreasing Nationwide, Hospitals In Massachusetts On Verge Of Collapsing!
Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Jan 24, 2024 9 months, 4 weeks, 1 day, 21 hours, 48 minutes ago
COVID-19 News - United States: Data from the U.S. CDC and from the new firm that the U.S. government has contracted for waste water surveillance i.e Verify…a company that belongs to Google!...claims that COVID-19 cases are declining nationwide, data from individual states and counties are showing the opposite!
Hospitals In Massachusetts On Verge Of Collapsing
In the state of Massachusetts, data shows that COVID-19 infections and hospital admissions were still high. From data released by the Massachusetts Department of Health, for the week 7
th of January 2024 to 13
th January 2024, there were a total of 41 COVID-19 deaths and there were 5491 COVID-19 cases.
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-reporting
However, for Emergency Department visits for various respiratory infections, a total of 63,323 visits were recorded for the same week!
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/respiratory-illness-reporting
It should be noted that the manner of reporting COVID-19 data by the Massachusetts government is devised to try to mislead anyone into understanding the actual COVID-19 scenario. They do not publish number of COVID-19 test conducted, the test posivity rates and actual COVID-19 hospital admissions!
However, latest
COVID-19 News - United States updates are showing that various hospitals across the state are not only overwhelmed but also on the verge of collapsing!
https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2024/01/21/mass-general-declares-capacity-disaster/
Massachusetts General Declares Code Help
Massachusetts General Hospital. One of the largest hospitals in the states has declared a "capacity disaster" as it grapples with an unprecedented crisis, requiring a significant increase in hospital beds to address a surplus of patients.
The situation, characterized by the hospital as a full-blown crisis, has persisted for the past 16 months, with the Emergency Department (ED) consistently operating at critical capacity levels. Patients are experiencing extended wait times for inpatient beds, with the ED frequently placed in a state of "Code Help" or "Capacity Disaster."
The crisis is exacerbated by the surge in illnesses such as COVID-19, flu, RSV, and other winter viruses. In a statement, a hospital spokesperson explained that "Code Help" occurs when inpatient beds and hallway stretchers are full, while "Capacity Disaster" is triggered when the ED reaches full capacity, all hallway stretchers are in use, and there are over 45 inpatients waiting for a hospital bed. Between October 2022 and September 2023, patients spent a total of
381,228 hours boarded in the hospital's ED, reflecting a 32 percent increase from the previous 12-month period.
In September alone, Mass. General saw patients boarding for a median of 14.1 hours, and 26 percent of admitted patients remained in the ED for more than 24 hours. Hospital President David F.M. Brown characterized the situation as a full-blown crisis for both emergency patients and healthcare workers, attributing it to the heightened demand for care in the post-pandemic era. Brown emphasized that 50 to 80 patients spend their first night of hospitalization in the ED daily, an inappropriate and non-therapeutic environment that significantly contributes to clinician burnout and frustration.
However, in the last three weeks, COVID-19 cases have exacerbated the situation to a point that the hospital directors are warning that the hospital services might simply collapse
https://www.massgeneral.org/news/press-release/mgh-facing-unprecedented-capacity-crisis
https://twitter.com/MassGeneralNews/status/1748409540712812863
Mass. General is not alone in facing this challenge, as numerous hospitals in Massachusetts struggle with patient overflow. In response, hospitals statewide are prioritizing faster discharges to free up beds. Some health insurance providers have also agreed to waive prior authorizations that may delay patient discharge. The hospital has provided information on its response to the crisis on a dedicated webpage, urging the public to stay informed about the ongoing situation.
Other hospitals in Masschusetts like Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Tufts Medical Center, Lahey Hospital and Medical Center and UMass Memorial Medical Center are all reporting almost similar situations with their ER departments being overwhelmed in the last 4 weeks and a shortage of COVID-19 beds.
The Massachusetts government has not made an official public announcement about the COVID-19 situation in the state or about what they are doing to deal with the situation.
Thailand
Medical News will be providing more updates on the COVID-19 situation in Massachusetts.
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COVID-19 News, keep on logging to Thailand Medical News.
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