Thread by @HeidiNBC

From a nurse named Cathie in North Texas
(a second cousin)

"This is the breaking point...will you help us now?"

THREAD

"This past weekend was a nightmare, we simply ran out of beds throughout the metroplex. We filled every single ICU bed by moving patients from ..

hospital to hospital.

Sadly, we also were unable to help out the smaller hospitals who had patients on transport or a disposable vents not intended for the patient to remain on other than for short periods of time.

One ER RN had tried 14 hospitals and still could not get

her patient on a disposable vent out of her ER. My heart broke as she begged for some help.

The Trauma RAC has been repurposed as a placement crisis line to help place patients throughout the state. Their mission has become almost impossible.

We are starting the process

of rationing care to the most likely to survive. We are avoiding intubation or placing patients on ventilators unless they simply have tired out from working to breath.

Advance care such as ECMO is maxed out and the criteria for placement has become increasingly selective.

This is the breaking point...will you help us now? It may well be yourself or a loved one who needs medical care from Covid or some other unforeseen medical emergency.

Mask 😷 wash your hands 🙌 and socially distance. It is not a debate, but rather tried and true science."