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1/4 ICU capacity will be over run by the end of the month-- that's from Healthcare Association of Hawaii's President Hilton Raethel & Lt. Gov. Josh Green
Green says 2 Oahu hospitals are already hitting ICU capacity. One of them only has 2 ICU beds left
Green says 2 Oahu hospitals are already hitting ICU capacity. One of them only has 2 ICU beds left
2/4Raethel and Green both are calling for officials to slow the spread of COVID. Green took it a step further to say we need to go back into "safer at home" i.e. what it was back in May (wow remember that month ?!) low-risk retailers were allowed to open but no gyms & restaurants
3/4 BUT Raethel says hospitals aren't even yet feeling the affects of the most recent triple digit case counts because it often takes days for people to get sick enough to be hospitalized. So no matter what there's already a predetermined influx expected over the next 2 weeks
4/4 that's why Raethel says it's imperative to act now and try to stop the spread if hospital capacity is to be saved. Plus as the number of hospitalizations rise the resources to treat patients will be stretched so it may result in worse outcomes
HAH is making decisions about hospital capacity through an internal data model-- plugging my story here about local data/public health experts urging for more information so they can create public models to disseminate at-large https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/post/crucial-public-information-missing-create-local-covid-19-model
!! If you're a doctor or a nurse and you're preparing or already experiencing an influx at your hospital, or just have some thoughts and feelings you'd want to share, I want to hear from you! *It's your voice that can best inform people about what's at stake* DM or email me !!
