Thread by @KrutikaKuppalli

💯agree with @jabarocas - in the past 24 hours 5 healthcare worker friends in different parts of the #US have been diagnosed with #COVID19.
At this rate as hospitalizations ⬆️ there will be an ⬆️ shortage of HCW's- who will care for patients & what will it look like a🧵
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https://twitter.com/jabarocas/status/1476640445987917824

✅The provider: patient ratio ⬆️⬆️⬆️
✅Patients wait longer for things like water, ice, food, & meds as nurses are stretched caring for more patients
✅The lab is stretched thin so bloodwork takes longer to return
✅Radiology is busier so it takes longer for an X-ray
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✅Physicians have less time to spend with patients and families because they have more individuals to see
✅There is less time to critically think about patients as HCW's are in triage mode trying to meet patients needs (I understand this is concerning, but is reality)
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✅If beds are full & you need elective surgery this may be cancelled (elective doesn't mean not essential) & this may delay an important diagnosis
✅If ICU's are full & you need a bed (i.e trauma) there may not be one (you may have to be transferred which could delay care)
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✅These are some of the (many) downstream effects on the healthcare system we are seeing as #COVID19 cases ⬆️ and HCW cases ⬆️
✅ For those who continue to dismiss #Omicron as "not that severe" or as a "cold" please think about this b/c we are seeing this happen in real time
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