Two Maryland hospitals declared a medical “disaster” on Friday as cases of COVID-19 continue to grow at facilities in Old Rhine.
According to The Washington Post, the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health has declared Bel Aire’s Upper Chesapeake Medical Center and Hubbard Grace’s Harford Memorial Hospital.
According to the post, this declaration will allow the facility to coordinate surgery schedules and relocate staff to meet the growing needs of hospitals.
According to the newspaper, cases of coronavirus surged 458 percent between the two hospitals last month. At the Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, the number of cases of COVID-19 has skyrocketed by 733%.
“Demand for our services outweighs our resources, including staffing,” Fermin Baruet, Senior Vice President of Upper Chesapeake Health, said in an interview.
He said “burnout” and “moral distress” contributed to staff shortages.
“We didn’t downplay this decision,” he said, adding that the situation was “a challenge.”
Barrueto told the newspaper that the declaration “is expected to last for days or weeks, but your guess is as good as mine.”
This declaration is in the midst of a nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases, partially caused by a highly infectious subspecies of Omicron. First identified in South Africa last month, the strain has spread worldwide since then.
Martha Maloney, a spokeswoman for Upper Chesapeake Health, told a post in an email that the hospital system “because it changes too much over time” and does not disclose the number of cases.
However, she revealed that 75 to 80 percent of patients admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 infection were unvaccinated.
Cases of coronavirus are increasing in Maryland. According to the post, the state reported 6,869 positive tests on Thursday. This was the best daily tally since the pandemic started in March 2020.
The state has surpassed 1,500 COVID-19 hospitalizations this week, triggering additional hospital action, according to a tweet from Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.
Hogan said in a statement Thursday that Maryland “may reach record levels of COVID-19 hospitalization” in the coming weeks, with the potential for more than 2,000 people, according to state forecasts. ..
Maryland is currently above the 1,500 COVID-19 hospitalization threshold, triggering additional hospital action. My complete statement: pic.twitter.com/30cDy9wbp0
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) December 23, 2021
“We are actively preparing for this scenario in collaboration with all hospitals, and today’s action is the latest step in that plan,” said a breakthrough case of COVID-19 earlier this week. Hogan said.
He urged Maryland residents to be vaccinated against COVID-19, saying that non-jab people were “driving tensions” in the hospital.
“Because unvaccinated patients are straining our healthcare system, we encourage Marylanders to play your part in getting your vaccine or booster shots as soon as possible,” Hogan said. Said.
“We will continue to closely monitor this surge and take additional steps as necessary,” he added.
Hill contacted Upper Chesapeake Health for more information.
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