Hospitals in southwest Florida continue to see a surge in COVID-19 admissions as the highly contagious Delta variant maintains its toll on the unvaccinated.
Medical professionals reiterate the importance of getting vaccinated to reduce serious illness and wearing masks indoors, even for those vaccinated according to the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Lee Health System, the dominant hospital in Lee County, reported 321 patients infected with the virus and isolated in the hospitals on Tuesday. That’s an increase from 315 on Monday. Lee Health peaked in 372 patients a year ago.
The system reported 48 new COVID-19 admissions and 35 layoffs since Monday; 29 of the COVID-19 patients are on ventilators and 52 in intensive care units.
The NCH Health System in Collier County reported Tuesday that it had 140 patients with the virus, an increase from 115 patients on Monday. 97 patients were reported on Friday. Of all Tuesday, 119 patients, or 85%, were unvaccinated.
Hospital officials reported 25 in intensive care and 11 on ventilators. The patients are between 18 and 100 years old, NCH said.
Physicians Regional on Tuesday had 59 patients, down from 62 patients on Monday.
“To date we have 59 confirmed cases across the doctors’ regional health system, 90% of these patients were unvaccinated and the age range is 23 to 95,” said hospital spokeswoman Brittney Thoman in an email. “We remain ready to care for all patients in need of medical attention and encourage anyone experiencing a medical emergency to seek immediate help.”
Previous reporting:Lee Health is admitting 117 COVID-19 patients over the weekend and is nearing its peak in July 2020
Related:Florida breaks case records and leads the nation in hospitalizations
Florida ranks second among the states where the virus is spreading fastest per capita, according to USA Today analysis of Johns Hopkins University data.
In the week that ended Sunday, August 1, the state’s case volume rose 51.3% to 110,724, according to Johns Hopkins data.
Lee County reported 2,956 new cases in the latest data, while Collier reported 1,430 new cases.
In early June, as COVID-19 cases slowed, the Florida Department of Health stopped its daily data reports and only released numbers on Fridays.
Governor’s Office:Florida will no longer post daily COVID-19 cases, death reports
Florida’s delegation to the Democratic Congress asked the state to reintroduce daily reporting in late July. The Florida Hospital Association publishes daily hospitalization data.
Data reported to the U.S. Department of Health on Tuesday showed that 11,863 people were hospitalized in Florida with the virus. That is about 22% of the total of 46,707 people admitted to the hospital.
Governor Ron DeSantis, an outspoken critic of masking requirements and bans, signed an executive order last week that makes masks optional in public schools when students return to classrooms this month.
On Tuesday, DeSantis said during a news conference in Miami that hospital admissions appear to be decreasing and slowing in some parts of the state.
“We think we’ll settle this week or next,” he said. “Even in places where there are more, COVID makes up a fraction of all hospital beds.”
The governor’s comment does not fit in with Lee Health’s hospital admissions last week, which averaged 35 to 58 new admissions daily. Last weekend, Lee Health enrolled 117 patients with the virus.
The President of the Collier County Medical Society, Dr. Alejandro Perez-Trepichio said the doctors’ organization strongly encourages anyone entitled to be vaccinated against the virus.
“Vaccinations are the most effective way to fight this pandemic,” he said in a statement. We also urge everyone to follow the latest guidelines from the CDC by resuming wearing masks in public places indoors while our local transmission rates are high, and getting tested for COVID-19 if you’ve been COVID for an extended period of time -has been exposed to positive people. regardless of your vaccination status or your symptoms. “
Perez-Trepichio said the medical society backed the NCH last week to be the first hospital in the region to prescribe the vaccine for all 4,500 employees by September 16.
“These measures will allow our hospitals to maintain continuity of services and treatments for COVID patients and all patients with other acute illnesses,” he said.
Dozens of NCH workers protested the vaccine mandate near NCH North Naples Hospital on Sunday, while hospital officials firmly insisted that the mandate be supported by medical staff.
Around 57% of NCH workers are vaccinated, although that number is likely higher because workers can get the vaccine outside of the health system and hospital officials say they may not have shared that information.
Hospitals adjust visiting times
Physicians Regional is the newest hospital in southwest Florida to be imposing visitor restrictions with immediate effect due to the dramatic increase in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
Visiting hours at the hospitals located on Pine Ridge Road and Collier Boulevard are now 9:00 am to 11:00 am and 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Only one visitor is allowed in a hospital room, and visitors must maintain social distancing and bring their own mask and wear it at all times.
“The safety of our patients is our top priority, especially while we are all working to eradicate COVID-19,” said spokeswoman Thoman. “Our team is taking exceptional measures to ensure COVID-safe care to protect our patients, our caregivers and the community.”
NCH allows only one visitor for patients in general units daily from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Visits to the emergency room and COVID-19 units can only be virtual.
In the ICU, a face-to-face visit is only allowed for compassionate reasons, as per NCH policy.
Lee Health has limited visits to its emergency rooms for compassionate care purposes for a loved one or when necessary to provide information to staff and at the staff’s discretion.
The same policy applies to Lee Becomeme Pflege visitable websites, which visitors are only allowed to access if they need information related to care or in the event of a special circumstance.
Cape Coral Hospital, Gulf Coast Medical Center, HealthPark Medical Center and Lee Memorial Hospital are switching to emergency room visits.
Two supporters such as a parent or legal guardian are admitted to the Golisano Children’s Hospital.
Patients in the obstetric emergency room of the HealthPark are allowed to have one visitor.
See similar https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/health/2021/08/03/covid-19-cases-continue-climb-southwest-florida-hospitals/5466646001/
The post COVID-19 cases continue to rise in hospitals in Southwest Florida first appeared on Daily Florida Press.
from Daily Florida Press https://dailyfloridapress.com/covid-19-cases-continue-to-rise-in-hospitals-in-southwest-florida/
No comments:
Post a Comment