In the COVID-19 unit at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, nurse Deena Smith is described every day as “go, go, go constantly.”
As Michigan endures a coronavirus boom surpassing any other state, medical personnel are in their third round of being overwhelmed.
“I feel like it’s been a little more hectic this time, just because we seem to have more people with this wave who are sicker,” Smith said. “It could also be that you know that this is the third time we’re doing this and that we’re exhausted, we’d be devastated.”
Hospitals were overwhelmed when the pandemic reached its first peak in April 2020, then in December with a second wave of cases – and now they are overwhelmed again.
For Smith, who started nursing in January 2020, the last year has been a whirlwind, she said.
As of Tuesday, 82.17% of hospital beds across the state are occupied. Most recent data show that 4,209 adults and children are hospitalized as a result of COVID-19. This means that coronavirus patients make up 21.79% of the beds.
As Michigan is in the midst of a boom, coronavirus-affected personnel and resources are severely burdened with health systems, Drs. Nick Gilpin, medical director of infection prevention for Beaumont Health in southeast Michigan, said.
Beaumont Hospitals has 800 COVID-19 patients in eight facilities, Gilpin said. Although they have enough personal protective equipment, beds and fans, the staff is upset.
For Smith, 30, she’s not just a nurse in a COVID unit, on her free days she’s home to help her daughter with virtual learning.
“It’s the same for a lot of my colleagues,” Smith said. “Our responsibility does not just end with our work, we have to come home and basically do another job.”
Due to the pandemic, hospitals have had to adapt several times already. In light of another boom, they have new plans.
McLaren hospitals in the northern region of Michigan have created plans to deal with large increases in coronavirus cases, but have not yet had to implement them, said Magen Samyn, regional vice president of marketing and business development for McLaren Bay, Caro. and Thumb region said. .
“There are times when we can approach kind of that higher capacity level based on daily admissions and layoffs, but we have not yet reached the point where we cannot accommodate it,” Samyn said.
McLaren did not have to cancel or reschedule elective surgery, but Beaumont canceled case-by-case screening operations.
Beaumont hospitals have a capacity of between 90% and 95%, but the capacity issues are different than during the increase in December, Gilpin said. There was a large increase in non-COVID patients.
Hospitals continue to see the adverse effects of delayed care as a result of the pandemic halt, says Dr. Darryl Elmouchi, president of Spectrum Health West Michigan. This means that more patients are in the hospital for reasons other than coronavirus infection.
“So, you know, people who would come in earlier are not, but it’s just busy,” Elmouchi said. “Very sick people unfortunately.”
Another notable difference in this increase is the population. Elmouchi saw younger patients as hospitals. This is due to the majority of the older population being vaccinated, as well as infectious COVID-19 variants.
As for younger populations, Elmouchi said ‘they do not realize because they have not really become ill in the past. Some of them are getting sick now. ‘
While younger patients stay for shorter periods and usually do not need ventilators, they are still incredibly ill, Gilpin said. Beds are still filling staff.
A number of Beaumont staff picked up extra shifts and reached out to external agencies to raise more staff for vaccination clinics and other health systems, said Susan Grant, chief nurse.
Beaumont also wants to move staff across the health system to help different units and floors, she said.
“But we need help. We need people who do their part to flatten this curve, ”Grant said.
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