Idaho hospitals weeks away from ‘crisis standards’ health care rationing, IDHW says
An Idaho Department of Health and Welfare official said Tuesday some hospitals are two weeks away from implementing the state’s “crisis standards” of health care rationing, a signal of how the surge of COVID-19 cases has overloaded health care systems in the past couple of months.
State officials warned that hospitals may soon implement “crisis standards of care,” a plan on how to ration health care when a disaster event overwhelms hospital capacities, if the state continues on its current trajectory. The crisis standards of care advisory committee will meet later this week, said Elke Shaw-Tulloch, administrator for the Idaho Division of Public Health.
Health leaders made a similar statement last fall, but cases dipped just in time to prevent crisis standards.
If Idaho continues on its current path, the state could see 30,000 COVID-19 cases a week by mid-October, according to the Department of Health and Welfare. The state’s peak was about 1,500 cases per day in December.
The state’s public health officials once again urged Idaho residents who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 to get their shots, emphasizing that all three shots have been effective against the virus and the highly transmissible delta variant.
“We are, at this point, pleading with people to take those measures to make sure we can stop the flow of patients coming into the hospitals,” Shaw-Tulloch said Tuesday.
Dr. Christine Hahn, state epidemiologist, said 65 COVID-19 patients were on ventilators on Tuesday, more than any day during last year’s fall surge.
The state has recently seen a rise in vaccine uptake among some age groups — those ages 12 to 17, 35 to 44, and 65 to 74 — but it’s not enough, she added. Only 52% of the eligible population (12 and older) has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the state. The national average is 70%.
“The bottom line is that we need more Idahoans to take action now and get vaccinated,” Shaw-Tulloch said.
Idaho reported 1,357 new COVID-19 cases Monday and more than 900 cases Tuesday. The state has totaled 2,258 COVID-19-related deaths, and new cases rose more than 1,200% since early July.
Idaho’s seven-day moving average of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 went from a low of 3.4 on July 5 to 30 on Tuesday, Shaw-Tulloch said. The COVID-19 positivity rate spiked from a low of 2.8% on June 13 to 12.3% on Tuesday. State officials are looking for a number below 5%.
The spike in COVID-19 cases comes before some school districts have started in-person lessons and before the flu season, which public health officials anticipate will lead to more health care demands. State officials said that while hospitals may have the equipment available, those facilities are facing a staffing shortage from COVID-19 exposure, cases or burnout as some leave the profession.
Hospitals are seeking state and federal resources, and state officials said they requested emergency assistance from the federal government to bring additional staff. Shaw-Tulloch said the state is also considering deploying the Idaho National Guard and calling on retired health care professionals who would like to help.
Shaw-Tulloch on Wednesday said health officials are tired, concerned and stressed. She said she’s frustrated that there are effective measures the public can take to prevent COVID-19 but acknowledges there are “different belief systems and value systems.”
“We’re all over it. We want this to be done,” Shaw-Tulloch said. “We can really turn this around if we all work together. … I know that there are more people out there that have that capacity, and we just need to find the right thing that really helps them step over that line.”
This story was originally published August 18, 2021 at 3:00 AM with the headline "Idaho hospitals weeks away from ‘crisis standards’ health care rationing, IDHW says."
