Arizona has seen skyrocketing infections this month after Ducey allowed his stay-at-home order to expire on May 15. Over the past seven days, nearly one in four coronavirus tests has been positive, a rate far higher than any other state. The positivity rate is a measure of how widespread the disease is in the community.
Preparing for an influx of patients, hospitals are activating plans to add more beds and staff. State officials have authorized “crisis standards of care,” which tell hospitals which patients should get a ventilator or other scarce resources if there is a shortage.
If there are more patients than can be cared for at ideal levels, patients are given a score based on their life expectancy and the likelihood their organs will fail. Hospitals are told not to consider factors like race, gender, sexual orientation or disabilities.
Emergency rooms are not yet overwhelmed, but COVID-19 is taking its toll, said Dr. Frank DelVecchio, who works in emergency rooms at several Phoenix-area hospitals, including Valleywise Health. Nurses caring for coronavirus patients take a significant amount of time suiting up to protect themselves and can’t quickly jump from room to room, he said.
“This is just off the charts, sick patients. We’re letting people go home that we’d never let go home if they were this sick,” including patients with low oxygen, DelVecchio said. “We’re trying to get you home oxygen. We’re trying to tell you to come back if worse. Because there’s not much we can do for you.”
People who have attempted or considered suicide are getting stuck for a day or more in emergency rooms because psychiatric facilities won’t accept them until they have COVID-19 test results. Because suicidal patients require constant monitoring, they are sometimes placed in hallways or less private areas while awaiting results, DelVecchio said.
Dignity Health, which operates several hospitals in the Phoenix area, is converting more areas to treat COVID-19 patients and preparing to put multiple patients in private rooms, spokeswoman Carmelle Malkovich said. It’s bringing nurses from underutilized hospitals in its system to Arizona and hiring traveling nurses and respiratory therapists throughout July.
HonorHealth, another big hospital chain in the Phoenix area, is prepared to implement the first phase of its surge plan as soon as this week, officials said in a statement. They did not explain what that means.
Susan needs to reclose SnL EMPTY TEMPE regardless of what greedy Rogerinocchio and ________Ben the cash flow bind and Accounts Payable CFO tell her. It is HER responsibility for the lives of the cook, servers, mailman, milkman, and all the people who may come in contact with them if they become infected with SARS-CoV-2 at SnL EMPTY TEMPE and then spread it ~OUTTside to others.
SnL EMPTY TEMPE has virtually ZERO customers and therefore must be bleeeding cash in OPERATING LOSSES. Nothing is being accomplished by keeping it open. It needs to reclose, and Susan needs to examine her motives and step up and reclose it. Human lives are worth a lot more than filthy lucre.
