Hospital Leaders Respond to ‘Dire State’ of Pandemic
Healthcare workers receive the first COVID-19 vaccine (photo courtesy of the Indiana Department of Health)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indianapolis Coalition for Patient Safety held a virtual press briefing on Monday regarding the “dire state of the pandemic in Indiana.” Hospital leaders representing Ascension St. Vincent, Community Health Network, and Eskenazi Health, among others, provided an update on the increasing number of hospitalizations and shrinking capacity in the intensive care units of Indiana hospitals.
According to the coalition, local hospitals are struggling with inpatient, ICU and ventilator capacity. Indiana is averaging more than six thousand COVID-19 patients per day, with approximately 3.5% of new cases requiring hospitalization.
“Frontline healthcare workers and other groups at higher risk of getting COVID-19 will be among the first to receive a vaccine,” said Dr. Michele Saysana, chair of the ICPS and chief quality and safety officer for IU Health. “And while this is promising news, we are far from mass vaccination that will allow us to return to ‘normal.’ We must continue to follow the prevention guidelines that we know work, and wear masks in public, wash our hands frequently and socially distance to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our communities.”
On Monday, the Indiana Department of Health received and administered the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to frontline healthcare workers in the state. The department says the first doses were administered to a physician, nurse, respiratory therapist, pharmacist, patient care tech and environmental services tech at Parkview Health in Fort Wayne. Parkview and Clark Memorial Hospital in Jeffersonville also received initial doses of the vaccine.
The department says additional vaccine is expected to arrive at Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, IU Methodist in Indianapolis and Community Hospital in Munster in the next few days. More than 50 Indiana hospitals and clinics are expected to receive a total of 55,575 doses of vaccine by the end of the week.
During the briefing, the ICPS shared particular concern regarding the shortage of ICU beds, which are used for both severely ill COVID-19 patients as well as other patients needing acute care for heart attacks, car accidents and other emergencies.
“Local hospitals are fast approaching crisis,” ICPS members said in a joint statement. “We ask that Hoosiers remain cautious during the coming winter months and the approaching holidays by following statewide and local restrictions.”
In addition to approaching capacity, the coalition says Indiana hospitals are experiencing staffing exhaustion and shortages. While central Indiana hospitals have been bringing in traveling nurses whenever possible, nurses are becoming more costly and more difficult to find as demand overwhelms supply.