Alabama: Covid surges; ICU beds dwindle

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.co...zations-strain-state-icu-capacity/5538009001/

'We are in a very bad place': Alabama COVID-19 hospitalizations breach 2,100 as ICU beds dwindle
Melissa Brown
Montgomery Advertiser
August 9, 2021

Alabama COVID-19 hospitalizations topped 2,100 on Monday in an ongoing surge that continues to threaten hospital intensive care capacity.

Health officials in the state are actively considering different plans to preserve resources. Many hospitals have seen dwindling staff numbers in recent months due to pandemic-related trauma, burn out and more lucrative opportunities out of state.

At least 2,134 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Alabama on Monday, Alabama Hospital Association director Dr. Don Williamson said. Just 87 intensive care designated beds are available in the state, the lowest number since Jan. 28 and about 6% of Alabama's current capacity.

Major care centers such as UAB have begun canceling surgical procedures as their COVID-19 patients increase, while at least one rural Alabama hospital will soon have to send administrative staff into patient units as a stopgap measure.

"I'm a guy that keeps a pretty positive attitude, but right now I'm scared to death," said Douglas Brewer, CEO at Whitfield Regional Hospital in rural Demopolis, Alabama. "Having lived through two peaks, we're seeing this one hit us much faster than the other two. It looks like it's going to be worse for many reasons, not the least of which is we have less staff."

The staff shortages are widespread in the state, Williamson said...

 

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[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.wsfa.com/2021/08/26/alabama-nears-2900-covid-19-hospitalizations-40-waiting-icu-beds/

Alabama nears 2,900 COVID-19 hospitalizations; 40 waiting for ICU beds
By WSFA 12 News Staff
Published: Aug. 26, 2021 at 4:52 PM EDT|Updated: 1 hour ago

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Alabama’s COVID-19 hospitalization rate ticked up again Thursday as healthcare workers treated 2,879 inpatients for the disease. Forty-five of those patients are children, according to the Alabama Hospital Association.

Alabama has yet to break the COVID-19 hospitalization record set in January when 3,087 inpatients were being treated at once, but the situation in the current surge has become more dire, specifically regarding those in hospital intensive care units.

Patients needing ICU-level treatment continue to outpace the state’s availability of designated ICU beds, something that had not become an issue prior to the current surge. There are 1,562 staffed ICU beds, as of Thursday, but 1,602 ICU patients, the hospital association said. That means some 40 patients are still waiting.

Two federal health teams have been deployed to Alabama, including one that’s focusing on the Dothan area where hospitals are being overrun by cases. The other is in the coastal counties of Baldwin and Mobile where the Alabama Department of Public Health confirmed it has also relocated two morgue trailers in anticipation of a growing number of deaths...