Dr. Jim Souza provided @BoiseMayor facts about what’s happening at @StLukesHealth as #COVID19 spreads out of control in our community. Inpatient numbers steadily rising over 6 weeks. October: Daily average number of COVID+ patients = 35, then 50, 90, 110, 120, then 135 yesterday
2/ @StLukesHealth ICU COVID-19+ patients were in the single digits in October, then mid-teens, then up to 24 yesterday. That’s added on top of the usual operations as people get sick and need hospital care for other reasons.
3/ Our own @STlukeshealth caregivers are getting sick in the community and it’s impacting how much care we can provide. Dr. Souza told @BoiseMayor we have 197 clinical staff out sick, 133 confirmed COVID-19+.
4/ @StLukesHealth stopped scheduling non-urgent, non-emergent surgeries and procedures that require an overnight stay until after Christmas and is canceling previously scheduled surgeries on a week by week basis to make room for #COVID19 patients.
5/ Dr. Souza says @StLukesHealth is pulling out all the stops for incentivizing employees to take more shifts and longer shifts and says, “Honestly, they’re running out of gas.” He says we’re approaching the limits of what we can do staffing wise.
More to share from Dr. Souza, but temporarily switching over to the Southwest District Health Board Meeting where a board member invited people who don't believe in COVID19/masks to speak to counter @StLukesHealth EXPERTS who were also invited to speak.
Finally have time to get back to Dr. Souza’s important conversation with @boisemayor on #COVID19. Sharing a few clips...
“To the degree we continue to delay these screening studies, we’re going to have curable conditions that could have been found early become incurable ones that we find late.” Dr. Jim Souza, @StLukesHealth
On our limited capacity: “@GovernorLittle will be forced to institute crisis standards. This means health care providers would need to make triage decisions and actually ration care to those most likely to survive.” @StLukesHealth
This is a long quote, but it’s critically important for everyone, especially those who don’t worry about COVID19 or don’t think it will impact them. “We’re in the just in case business... (describing the services we offer to you and your loved ones)”...
... “If crisis standards are implemented, people are going to be caught by surprise because these sorts of therapies might not be available. If we let that happen, it’s going to be our collective failure as citizens.” ...
... “When you watch a train coming down the track towards you, I suppose you tell yourself it might stop, but it probably won’t, so you get out of the way.”...
... “We’ve been giving this message as health care providers since April and we are starting to wonder if anyone is listening.” -Dr. Jim Souza, @StLukesHealth
And Dr. Jim Souza’s advice to @boisemayor on actions that could help to slow the spread of COVID19 in our community:
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
