Oregon hospitals near breaking point as COVID-19 surges

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Source: https://www.570news.com/2021/08/18/oregon-hospitals-near-breaking-point-as-covid-19-surges/

Oregon hospitals near breaking point as COVID-19 surges
by Sara Cline, The Associated Press
Posted Aug 18, 2021 8:03 pm EDT
Last Updated Aug 18, 2021 at 8:11 pm EDT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Just 41 intensive care unit beds were available in Oregon on Wednesday as COVID-19 cases continue to climb and hospitals near capacity in a state that was once viewed as a pandemic success story.

Oregon, which earlier had among the lowest cases per capita, is now shattering its COVID-19 hospitalization records day after day. Oregon — like Florida, Arkansas and Louisiana — has had more people in the hospital with COVID-19 than at any other point in the pandemic.

As of Wednesday, 850 coronavirus patients were hospitalized in Oregon — surpassing the state’s record, which was set the previous day. Before this month, the hospitalization record was 622 in November, during a winter surge and when vaccines were not yet available.

More than a third of the state’s 652 adult ICU beds are being used for COVID-19 patients. Health officials say that the overwhelming majority of hospitalized virus patients are unvaccinated.

For more than a year Oregon faced some of the nation’s strictest safety measures — county risk levels, mask requirements inside and outside, limited gatherings and restaurants closed for indoor dining. Health officials say the state’s consistently low COVID-19 case counts throughout the pandemic can be attributed to tight restrictions...

 

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Source: https://abcnews.go.com/US/oregon-covid-19-patient-unable-icu-bed-dies/story?id=79565124

Oregon COVID-19 patient unable to get ICU bed dies
Hospitals across the country are being pushed to the brink again.
ByAnthony Rivas
20 August 2021, 20:54

A southern Oregon hospital has been pushed to the brink by COVID-19.

CHI Mercy Health announced on Thursday that amid the "onslaught" of new cases and hospitalizations brought on by COVID-19, including highly contagious variants like delta, a patient waiting for a bed in the intensive care unit died. It's a scenario playing out in hospitals across the U.S.

"This moment, we pause," the hospital said in a Facebook post. "A COVID-positive patient was in our Emergency Department, within our four walls, waiting for an open intensive care unit bed to receive life-saving care. It had been several hours because other COVID-positive patients had filled those beds. Even after expanding ICU care onto other floors, there weren't any beds available for this patient. We didn't have enough."...

 

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Source: https://www.kgw.com/article/news/he...t-25/283-1ccfce50-06f7-469f-a8d3-5c8dff666c6e

Oregon reports 2,777 new COVID cases, hospitalizations hit another new high
There are 1,080 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon and 295 in ICU beds.
Author: KGW Staff
Published: 3:41 PM PDT August 25, 2021
Updated: 4:06 PM PDT August 25, 2021

PORTLAND, Ore. — COVID-19 hospitalizations reached another new high in Oregon on Wednesday, spiking to 1,080 across the state.

New cases also continued at near-record numbers, with the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reporting 2,777 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 in its daily report Wednesday, the latest in a string of days with more than 2,000 new cases

OHA also reported 20 deaths, which raises the state's death toll to 3,086.

In its report, OHA urged people who are seeking COVID-19 testing or care for nonemergency medical issues to stay out of hospital emergency rooms because they are under so much strain. You can find COVID testing here.

In its weekly report also released Wednesday, OHA reported that cases, hospitalizations and deaths had all increased from the week prior. Last week marked seven consecutive weeks of increasing hospitalizations. Douglas County reported the worst case rates in the state, with more than 1,036 cases per 100,000 people. By comparison, Oregon's statewide case rate for Aug. 15-21 was 321 cases per 100,000.

There are 1,080 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon, an increase of 80 since Tuesday. There are 295 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is 12 more than Tuesday.

There are 44 available adult ICU beds out of 662 total (7% availability) and 320 available adult non-ICU beds out of 4,256 (8% availability)...