A group of Arizona health care workers and supporters are calling on the state to take urgent action to combat the ever-increasing number of COVID-19 infections. What they say is a collapsing healthcare system.
Top of their list: State-wide vaccine and mask obligations, and bans on large rallies.
At least 1,100 Arizona health professionals, including doctors, nurses and caregivers, call on Governor Doug Duchy, health leaders, state and county authorities to take immediate action, including policy changes, to combat the latest Omicron. Signed an open letter. It fueled a surge in COVID-19 cases in the state.
“Without immediate action and intervention, the imminent proliferation of Omicrons will cause many preventable deaths for both patients infected with COVID-19 and those seeking treatment for non-COVID life-threatening illnesses. “The letter states.
On Friday, the group held a virtual briefing with reporters, who used their collective voice to alert about overloaded health workers and were already at stake in hospitals and other health facilities throughout Arizona. He said he would like to call for intervention in what is in the situation.
“Sufficient. We demand action. It’s not too late to change course at this point,” Tucson’s family doctor, Dr. Cadey Harrel, said in a briefing. “We are on the verge of collapse and have no backup plans.”
Ducey on Friday said he hadn’t seen the letter yet, but would take it “under advice.”
He added that there would be no obligation.
Stimulated by the highly contagious Omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19, the number of cases of Arizona is increasing rapidly, and hospitals are under pressure to have a small number of staff and high patient demand. I’m nervous.
On Friday, Arizona reported 14,888 new COVID-19 cases and 30 new known deaths.
According to state data, the number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 in Arizona on January 3 was higher than any day before the pandemic.
“Current medical care is quite different from what it was two years ago,” Dr. Kara Gueren, a doctor in the Phoenix emergency room, said in a briefing on Friday. “There are more patients with less staff and resources.”
Patients may face longer-than-usual waiting times until they are seen by a nurse, evaluated by a doctor or advanced care provider, and the necessary tests and medications are available. It’s expensive, Mr. Geren said.
“If you’re in the hospital, you might spend days waiting for a bed on the hospital floor in the emergency department,” she said. “If you need specialized medical care that can only be provided by another hospital and you need to be transferred, you will have to wait days in the emergency department until another hospital can take care of you.”
Jeren said hospitals in Arizona wouldn’t be too busy if more patients were vaccinated. It’s frustrating, she said.
“Some people believe we’re villains, even though all we want to do is help patients,” she said. “The situation for healthcare professionals is getting worse …. There is a shortage of staff throughout medical care, including X-ray and CT technicians, behavioral health technicians, housekeeping, and doctors.”
She said she needed more skilled health care workers and a policy to follow public health guidelines.
“We had the resources to treat the patient and to rest and heal after a difficult day,” she said. “Now, in a limited amount of time, we rush from one patient to another.”
Dr. Bradley Dreyfus, a doctor in Tucson’s emergency room, says he regularly sees patients who regret their decision not to follow public health guidance, especially when their children are infected. ..
He said banning large-scale rallies could prevent many of the problems found in COVID-19-affected families.
“I have a pediatric patient with a new seizure disorder after COVID,” he said. “The problem with long COVID is that we are not addressing or quantifying costs for society.”
Long COVID refers to long-term health problems after COVID-19 infection.
Tucson-based epidemiologist Elizabeth Jacobs said Omicron would create a whole new COVID-19 situation in Arizona, and state leaders would need to respond.
“This is an opportunity to pivot,” she said. “The data make it clear that we are being hit by Omicron, and that we are in urgent need of mitigation.”
Republic reporters Allison Steinbach and Ray Stern contributed to this article.
Contact the reporter at Stephanie.Innes@gannett.com or 602-444-8369. Follow her on Twitter @stephanieinnes..
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