Due to the current wave of COVID cases in the area — and resulting increase in hospitalizations — UC Health has implemented “an enhanced level of surge operations” to attempt to mitigate the stress on both facility capacity and frontline health care workers.
As of Monday, UC Health will only be performing “medically-necessary, time-sensitive surgeries and procedures, as well as emergency care and outpatient procedures that do not require a hospital stay,” says Amanda Nageleisen, UC Health’s director of corporate media relations, in a statement.
“We are also expanding ICU capacity,” she says.
As part of their initial surge operations, UC Health also reduced inpatient elective surgeries by 50% starting Nov. 16 and now requires approval for all ICU transfer requests. They have also upped surge staffing and are moving outpatient visits to telehealth, where applicable.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said during a press briefing on Monday that statewide hospitalizations are the highest they’ve ever been, with 5,060 people hospitalized with COVID across Ohio, 1,180 in the ICU and 682 on ventilators.
Dr. Andy Thomas, Chief Clinical Officer at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, said during the same briefing that “COVID patients are going to start crowding out other people who need that level of care as these numbers continue to rise.”
“The reality is that hospitals are making difficult decisions about delaying care. It may be non-urgent care, but it’s care that may cause someone to go to the ICU after surgery,” he said. “A lot of hospitals are delaying those surgeries because they can’t afford their ICUs to be overtaxed.”
UC Health’s Nageleisen says one in four patients in Southwest Ohio hospitals are COVID positive, compared to one in eight just three weeks ago, and the number of ICU patients in the region is the highest it has even been.
“Data modeling shows that COVID-19 case volumes are projected to increase on a trajectory that will continue to stretch the capacity of our physical, emotional and human resources,” she says.
That concern was echoed by UC Health President and CEO Dr. Richard Lofgren in a memo to staff on Nov. 28 announcing the enhanced surge operations:
“We recognize our vital role and distinctive responsibility as the region’s academic health center to care for the most complex patients, especially during this pandemic. However, this reality is causing our critical care units, including the CVICU and MICU, to be under considerable stress and duress. The numbers alone do not tell the whole story; we see and hear the emotional wear and tear that the coronavirus pandemic is causing you and your staff. We continue to remain in awe of your commitment to patients, families and each other, and in the exceptional work being done every day during these unprecedented times.”
The hospital will be monitoring their capacity and staffing needs against COVID cases and will make adjustments as necessary.
“We are taking these necessary steps to help preserve the ability of our people to continue to provide both COVID and non-COVID care,” Nageleisen says. “The best thing the public can do to help is wear a mask, socially distance, and stay home as much as possible to help us preserve the ability of our staff to provide care.”
This article appears in The Holiday Issue.