Jump to content

Thanks for visiting BtownBanners.com!  We noticed you have AdBlock enabled.  While ads can be annoying, we utilize them to provide these forums free of charge to you!  Please consider removing your AdBlock for BtownBanners or consider signing up to donate and help BtownBanners stay alive!  Thank you!

Class of '66 Old Fart

Coronavirus and Its Impact

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, Dalton26 said:

 


Where’d this come from? The hospitals report something different, and I was just in one of them on Friday and they weren’t even close to being packed.


Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

 

In terms of it not being reported, blame that on the Texas Medical Center which has stopped updating (I had linked an article previously from a Houston hospital official that said that this was coming at the direction of Gov. Abbott, but I can't locate it).  On Thursday the ICUs had hit their maximum and then they stopped reporting the data.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-hospitals-hit-100-base-ICU-capacity-15372256.php

 

Houston hospitals have suspended elective surgreries and hospitalizations have tripled in the last month.

https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-hospitals-expand-icu-capacity-rush-coronavirus-spike-2020-6

United Memorial Medical Center expands their wing dedicated to covid.

https://www.khou.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/our-biggest-frustration-is-that-people-are-not-listening-houston-hospital-expands-covid-wing-shares-thoughts-on-case-surge/285-7f0761b5-c65d-4159-8317-4ad9856a6cb1

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 hours ago, Golfman25 said:

That statement was from June 25th.  The matter at hand was talking about how the hospital data stopped getting reported after Thursday, June 26th when the hospitals first said they were at 100% capacity in their ICUs.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, brumdog45 said:

In terms of it not being reported, blame that on the Texas Medical Center which has stopped updating (I had linked an article previously from a Houston hospital official that said that this was coming at the direction of Gov. Abbott, but I can't locate it).  On Thursday the ICUs had hit their maximum and then they stopped reporting the data.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-hospitals-hit-100-base-ICU-capacity-15372256.php

 

Houston hospitals have suspended elective surgreries and hospitalizations have tripled in the last month.

https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-hospitals-expand-icu-capacity-rush-coronavirus-spike-2020-6

United Memorial Medical Center expands their wing dedicated to covid.

https://www.khou.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/our-biggest-frustration-is-that-people-are-not-listening-houston-hospital-expands-covid-wing-shares-thoughts-on-case-surge/285-7f0761b5-c65d-4159-8317-4ad9856a6cb1

 

 

My comment wasn’t directed at you personally it was aimed at the false reports of 100% capacity. 
 

It’s all over the news down here now that the 100% capacity reports weren’t accurate and were an error on TMC’s part which the hospitals in the TMC system had already refuted shortly after the initial report.

 

It just irked me because I was trying to get tested again to see if I was finally negative and I’ve had to wait a week for the results(tomorrow will be 3 weeks since I popped positive) and it’s because the media hasn’t gotten their facts straight before reporting and it’s making people freak out. The Dr that ended up giving me my latest test, said most of the people he’s been testing haven’t had any symptoms they’re just worried and want tested. That’s causing the back log for Regular sick people and those who have tested positive like myself. 
 


 


 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
53 minutes ago, Golfman25 said:

That's the thing when the media reports on ICU capacity -- what is it normally?  Have to compare it to something, but then it wouldn't be as "scary."  

Usually they sit at almost full capacity.  Most hospitals have overflow ICU rooms they can convert to ICU.  Smaller hospitals can convert more rooms than are currently listed as ICU rooms.  Now if it has to be a negative pressure room that’s another story and typically there aren’t many of those.  Larger hospitals that carry 500-1000 beds have ICUs that are usually 10% of their overall beds.  They can usually convert so that 20-25% of their overall beds can be ICU.  Depends on the health system and how new their buildings are.  Guessing Daltons hospital hasn’t touched their overflow so even when they say 80% or whatever they are really at 40-50% at most.  People can see the original numbers of almost full and don’t realize how agile hospitals can be in a pinch.  When you get into the overflow and are almost maxed out that is New York.  When people are in the halls you know.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
56 minutes ago, Brass Cannon said:

Personally I think standard ICU capacity being hit and needing expanded is scary 

It’s actually more common than you would think.  I know you are southern Indiana so me describing Parkview in Fort Wayne doesn’t mean much.  But if memory serves me correct Parkview Regional Medical Center is where everyone is funneled into.  They had 99 ICU beds.  Of those 99 around 50 are CVICU.  Out of those 99 they sit at least at 85% capacity daily.  The 2nd floor is all ICU and PICU.  Completely separate.  Third floor is all long term ICU.  The overflow used to be shift everyone a floor up.  I won’t pretend to know the plan for this, but a floor is around 60 beds.  30 of those can be converted.  With this I am sure they have more that can be converted.  With Indiana having horrible heart issues they won’t take away from CVICU.  Those rooms are set up in a way they can do emergency surgery in the room.  Most health systems have actually reduced rooms over the last 20-30 rooms so they could stay at 80%+ capacity.  If you aren’t, your health system is losing money.  ICU in Northern Indiana including smaller hospitals regularly stay at 80% or higher.  I have no clue on Texas, but I doubt in a larger city they would drop much further below that number.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
16 minutes ago, mdn82 said:

It’s actually more common than you would think.  I know you are southern Indiana so me describing Parkview in Fort Wayne doesn’t mean much.  But if memory serves me correct Parkview Regional Medical Center is where everyone is funneled into.  They had 99 ICU beds.  Of those 99 around 50 are CVICU.  Out of those 99 they sit at least at 85% capacity daily.  The 2nd floor is all ICU and PICU.  Completely separate.  Third floor is all long term ICU.  The overflow used to be shift everyone a floor up.  I won’t pretend to know the plan for this, but a floor is around 60 beds.  30 of those can be converted.  With this I am sure they have more that can be converted.  With Indiana having horrible heart issues they won’t take away from CVICU.  Those rooms are set up in a way they can do emergency surgery in the room.  Most health systems have actually reduced rooms over the last 20-30 rooms so they could stay at 80%+ capacity.  If you aren’t, your health system is losing money.  ICU in Northern Indiana including smaller hospitals regularly stay at 80% or higher.  I have no clue on Texas, but I doubt in a larger city they would drop much further below that number.

The Indiana coronavirus site tracks ICU bed usage and we are currently statewide at about 60% bed usage -- 50% on non-covid and 10% on covid.  So a surge that would take it to full capacity would actually mean that the number of covid cases would basically quintuple in the state.  

https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Golfman25 said:

That's the thing when the media reports on ICU capacity -- what is it normally?  Have to compare it to something, but then it wouldn't be as "scary."  

I'm not sure why the media would get blamed on this.....it's pretty easy for a state's government to be forthright about it.  Indiana's dashboard has shown that we ramped up our available ICU beds in preparation for covid to 2,981 ICU beds statewide;  March 25th, as more beds started to fill, it had peaked at 3,325 ICU beds.  It currently sits at 2,521 beds as we are through our strongest wave (assuming).  Al of this information was obtained with one link.

https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/

Is it really so hard to assume that the taxes we pay are spent in such a way to give a state's citizens the data to make informed decisions?  For some reason I think that government inefficiency to be transparent gets put as a 'media' issue.  The media certainly can't publish information that the state isn't providing, and in the case of Texas, information that they intentionally removed.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
37 minutes ago, brumdog45 said:

The Indiana coronavirus site tracks ICU bed usage and we are currently statewide at about 60% bed usage -- 50% on non-covid and 10% on covid.  So a surge that would take it to full capacity would actually mean that the number of covid cases would basically quintuple in the state.  

https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/

Yep and you have to think that 50% includes every small community ICU.  Like Parkview for instance in Northern Indiana funnels everything to PRMC or Randallia.  The community hospitals don’t have a ton of people in ICU longer than a day or two.  If so they funnel to their main hospitals.  That’s pretty common in Indiana.  The overflow rooms wouldn’t be counted as ICU rooms until they switch their designation if needed.  Currently they would be looked at as a normal inpatient room.  It’s all based on how they set up billing if that makes any sense.  But I would be willing to bet that 50% number the majority of those patients are in a handful of hospitals across the state.  The emptiness is from the community hospitals.  Which is pretty normal.  As things sit today I am not worried about Indiana.  But if they ever start to fill up and one day the state data said like 95% and then the next day said 65%, that isn’t anyone fudging with numbers.  That’s just they created more ICU rooms which is fairly normal even in non-Covid times.  The crazy part is all of the heart disease in Indiana.  There are probably more people in CVICU today across the state than in actual ICU rooms.  There are plenty of beds and ventilators in Indiana and room for expansion.  

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, mdn82 said:

Usually they sit at almost full capacity.  Most hospitals have overflow ICU rooms they can convert to ICU.  Smaller hospitals can convert more rooms than are currently listed as ICU rooms.  Now if it has to be a negative pressure room that’s another story and typically there aren’t many of those.  Larger hospitals that carry 500-1000 beds have ICUs that are usually 10% of their overall beds.  They can usually convert so that 20-25% of their overall beds can be ICU.  Depends on the health system and how new their buildings are.  Guessing Daltons hospital hasn’t touched their overflow so even when they say 80% or whatever they are really at 40-50% at most.  People can see the original numbers of almost full and don’t realize how agile hospitals can be in a pinch.  When you get into the overflow and are almost maxed out that is New York.  When people are in the halls you know.

 

Man, I feel like this was already covered back in earlier posts?  Oh I don't know, sometime in late March when we were all jonesing for some Hoosiers ballin' in the tourney!  Something about applying exponential math to our current health care system/infrastructure.  

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Physicians are telling their patients generally not to be tested unless you have symptoms. Then I read a news article telling millions of Americans if they have been to a beach they should be tested.

What’s the purpose of this? I can offer my opinions if anyone wants them.


Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.

×