Friday Night Update from the ER in Arlington, VA: "ER's are swamped" with COVID Cases; "This is an

[TexasTowelie]

Friday Night Update from the ER in Arlington, VA: “ER’s are swamped” with COVID Cases; “This is an extraordinary time for healthcare”


From my first post on March 13, 2020—“Go to the ER if you are sick enough to need emergency care. But don’t go to get tested. Assume you have it and stay home for 2 weeks and distance yourself from your family (separate bedroom and bathroom if possible). Testing is still very limited and soon, it will be irrelevant as most with people with respiratory symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath) will have this. Protect the elderly as their chance of needing hospitalization or the ICU is much higher. ER’s and hospitals were at capacity to begin with. People wanting testing unnecessarily adds to capacity issues and forces us to use our limited supply of gowns and masks. Again, if you feel sick enough to need an ER, we are there for you.”

ER volume declined 40% as people really locked down and we never saw the massive spread we initially expected. Locking down to “flatten the curve” protected most hospitals. The surge of cases came, but not to extent we expected. We are now seeing the surge we anticipated back then and perhaps those sentences are more appropriate for January 2022.

ER’s are swamped. Our daily volume averaged 180 patients a day prior to the pandemic. We would swing from 165-205 but getting to 220+ was extraordinarily rare at my site. With the exception of Christmas, over the past week, our daily volume has been at 200+ patients a day with volumes of 250-265 the last 3 days in a row. I don’t have a written list of our top 10 volume days (which bums me out to admit that), but I’m pretty sure we had our top 3 this week. And every ER director I talk to is facing the same challenge. This is an extraordinary time for healthcare, and it’s led large hospital systems across the country to put out on their social media platforms that ER’s should not be used for routine testing and for minor illness right now. That’s additionally troubling as getting a test (anywhere) is extremely challenging and I’ve seen huge lines extend for over a block at my own local urgent care.

It’s crazy to me that almost 2 years into the pandemic, testing is still such a huge issue. It’s hard to find tests in pharmacies, it’s hard to schedule appointments for testing, and lines for other testing centers can take hours. While most patients coming to the ER are symptomatic, some probably wouldn’t come to the ER if they had better access to testing. While I understand the internal concern and fear to seek the ER if you think you have COVID, emergency care is extraordinarily expensive with legit space and staffing constraints. Coming to the ER for minor symptoms, covid exposure, or testing before you travel is not typically necessary or advisable.

Read more: https://bluevirginia.us/2022/01/friday-night-update-from-the-er-in-arlington-va-ers-are-swamped-with-covid-cases-this-is-an-extraordinary-time-for-healthcare

[appalachiablue]

1. A Walgreens near Arl. had ample Covid test kits. Last

night friends bought them (2 per box) there after hearing a customer ask at the front desk. McLean was the store I think.

[Pas-de-Calais]

2. Big box pharmacies in STL are out of tests

Or charging $$$$$ if you come in by appointment to get tested

[phylny]

3. Check the expiration dates on the at-home tests.

Some of mine expire in February - and I just bought them.