As hospitals in California acted this week for an increase in COVID-19 patients who became infected during Christmas, officials shared painful stories about the last moments of dying with their families.
‘One of the more heartbreaking conversations our health workers share is about the last words when children apologize to their parents and grandparents for bringing COVID into their homes because they got sick. “These excuses are just a few of the last words loved ones will ever hear when they die alone,” said Hilda Solis, Los Angeles County supervisor. “Please stay home for your loved ones. Stay safe. Keep your loved ones to life. ”
Officials believe the current increase was driven in part by family gatherings around Thanksgiving and Christmas, which enabled younger people, who were more likely to walk around, to distribute COVID-19 to their elders, who otherwise tended to go home. stay.
“The situation is worse than ever before, so I’m going to share some stories from our local hospitals,” Solis said. ‘To die of COVID in the hospital means you have to die alone. Visitors are not allowed in hospitals for their own safety. Families say goodbye to tablets and cell phones. ”
Dr Mark Lepore, medical center for the intensive care unit at Ventura County Medical Center, said last week that too many families bring their seriously ill loved ones to the hospital too late.
“They are worried that they will not come out alive if they go,” Lepore said.
Lepore said he was forced to have difficult conversations with critically ill patients when they come in, which explains the treatment they can receive to keep them alive, such as throwing it on their belly to make it easier to to breathe and to administer oxygen under pressure through a mask their blood oxygen levels drop too low.
But if that does not work, Lepore said, he asked patients if they would like to be placed in a ventilator – this involves placing a tube in their trachea on a machine to help them breathe and be anesthetized – or if they would rather be simply made comfortable when they die.
The chance of surviving COVID-19 once a patient is placed in a ventilator is between 20% and 60%. The discussion is difficult, Lepore said. “And if it gets to the point that, after you put you on a breathing machine, we would not do CPR on you because it would not work – because the disease took hold,” Lepore said he to patients say. .
Lepore said it is essential that people get medical care if they are short of breath. “Even if hospitals are full, you should seek care or call your doctor,” he said. People can use a pulse oximeter to monitor their oxygen levels in the blood, and if the level is less than 90%, that means you have to call the emergency department, Lepore said.
“The longer you wait for this disease, the less likely we are to give you therapies that can help you get through this,” he added.
A doctor at a public hospital in Los Angeles County said families who could not be there for their dying loved ones were crushed.
While working in the ICU, where there are few caregivers to rescue extremely sick patients, he said he heard “families crying over the phone, in fear that their loved one is dying. … The way most people leave “We are dying. We spend our days calling families to let them know that their loved one has exhausted all medical treatment and is going to die despite our best efforts.”
Solis noted that more than 200 people in LA County die from COVID-19 daily, and hospitals were on the verge of rationing care, where doctors would choose which patients received treatment and which did not.
Due to staffing issues, one private county hospital in LA County declared an internal disaster on Monday, meaning the hospital was so overwhelmed that the emergency room was closed to all incoming ambulances, according to Dr. Christina Ghaly, director of LA County.
The coronavirus is so widespread that at least one in five people tested for the virus, or about 15,000 a day, are positive in Southern California.
Barbara Ferrer, director of public health in LA County, pleaded with the public Monday to stay home as much as possible. When she left home to access essential services, she appealed to people to bring disinfectant wipes so they could wipe their phones, keys, workstations and door handles – everything they touch, what others touch.
Ferrer also issued a new recommendation that people who need to go out – and live in a household with an elderly person or someone with underlying medical conditions – should start wearing masks at home to protect them.
“Because there is so much spread, we also recommend that people keep their face masks on while they are indoors,” Ferrer said. For anyone who works outside or is the person performing the essential tasks in the family, wearing a mask at home will “provide only a layer of protection as we get through the boom.”
People should also make sure that frequently touched surfaces are disinfected, utensils are not shared and, if possible, that bedrooms and bathrooms are not shared with the most vulnerable.
‘This is the time to be extremely careful and very careful. We still cannot ease our efforts – not now and not for the next few weeks. “Every minute, an average of 10 people in LA County test positive for COVID-19,” Ferrer said.
Ferrer reiterated that people who are infected can transmit the virus to others for two days or longer before showing any symptoms themselves. At least 10% to 12% of people infected with the virus are admitted to the hospital, and more than 1% of people diagnosed with the virus eventually die, Ferrer said.
“The devastating effects on our families and local hospitals as a result of this boom are the worst disaster our country has experienced in decades,” Ferrer said.
Ferrer said officials had done a lot in recent months to try to control the virus – banning rallies, investigating workplaces and issuing fines. “But it was inadequate because the biggest single factor in it all comes down to individuals taking appropriate steps,” Ferrer said. “We need to make sure everyone survives to benefit from the vaccine.”
‘This is not the time to meet up with friends at your home to watch the game. This is not the time to go for a walk without covering your face. “All that is needed is one mistake, and soon five, 10 or 20 other people will be infected,” Ferrer said. “The most important way to stop this is to avoid interacting with others and protecting ourselves at all times.”