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Hospitals Feeling Surge of COVID-19

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

EAST TEXAS – During the initial onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses and doctors were hailed as heroes on the front lines, waging war on a virus that was quickly changing the world.

These heroes told of being low on supplies and fighting to get more equipment, like ventilators, to treat the increasing number of Coronavirus victims. Hospitals were at the bursting point, convention centers were converted to makeshift medical wards and in some places, refrigerated trucks were brought in to house the dead.

After months of doing without, medical professionals started to get the tools to combat the spread of the disease. Testing became a necessary way of life and masks became a required fashion accessory.

Emergency vaccines were tested and developed. As more and more people received the vaccinations, the number of new cases began to drop and the death rate slowed down tremendously.

It seemed as if the medical community had COVID-19 on the ropes. Unfortunately, during the early part of this summer, a perfect storm of events – led by the Delta variant of the disease – breathed new life into the deadly virus. Mask fatigue and anti-vaccination sentiment also aided in the summer resurgence.

Despite being better prepared this time around, hospitals are at the breaking point once again.

“This crisis right now is really driving us to a place where it is really unsustainable,” Dr. Joseph Chang, chief medical officer for Parkland Health and Hospital System in Dallas, said. “The number of COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals is accelerating faster than at any other point in the pandemic as the contagious delta variant spreads unchecked, primarily among the unvaccinated.”

Since the end of June, when COVID-19 hospitalizations stood at 1,502, the numbers have skyrocketed and on Aug. 15, the number of lab-confirmed COVID-19 patients, currently in Texas hospitals, stood at 11,791, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (TxDSHS).

Throughout the state of Texas, TxDSHS reported there were 62,379 total staffed hospital beds. As of Aug. 16, there were only 7,851 beds available. Of the 7,851 available beds, only 327 beds were available in intensive care units. Furthermore, there were only 6,470 ventilators available. On Aug. 16, 5,343 new, confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported.

Drilling down further, the state of Texas is divided into 22 Trauma Service Areas (TSA). Houston and Anderson Counties are located in TSA G along with the other following counties: Camp; Cherokee; Franklin; Freestone; Gregg; Harrison; Henderson; Marion; Panola; Rains; Rusk; Shelby; Smith; Trinity; Upshur; Van Zandt; and Wood.

Information provided by the TxDSHS website indicates the 2020 estimated population of TSA G was 968,611. As of Aug. 16, TSA G was reporting 2,688 staffed hospital beds. Of these 2,688 beds, only 528 were available with only 14 beds assigned to an ICU. TxDSHS also reported there were only 162 ventilators available.    

It was further reported of 1,967 total hospitalizations in TSA G, there were 531 lab-confirmed COVID-19 patients currently in the hospital, or approximately 27 percent of all hospitalizations.

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].           

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