BBC: Covid-19: Hospitals under pressure as coronavirus cases rise. “Hospitals in the south of England say they have seen a ‘real rise in pressure’ as the number of Covid patients needing treatment increases. Saturday was described as one of London Ambulance Service’s busiest in history amid the rapid spread of a new variant. The service […]
AP: As hospitals cope with a COVID-19 surge, cyber threats loom. “By targeting providers with attacks that scramble and lock up data until victims pay a ransom, hackers can demand thousands or millions of dollars and wreak havoc until they’re paid. In September, for example, a ransomware attack paralyzed a chain of more than 250 […]
The Atlantic: The U.S. Has Passed the Hospital Breaking Point. “The pandemic nightmare scenario—the buckling of hospital and health-care systems nationwide—has arrived. Several lines of evidence are now sending us the same message: Hospitals are becoming overwhelmed, causing them to restrict whom they admit and leading more Americans to die needlessly.”
KGW 8: Here’s how to check hospital capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The federal government released a nationwide database that allows anyone interested in hospital capacity to take a look. You can find the database here. Those who are comfortable working with Excel and other spreadsheet software will have no problems finding what they need. […]
St. Louis Public Radio: St. Louis Children’s Hospital Is Now Seeing Adult Patients With COVID-19. “St. Louis Children’s Hospital is now treating adult patients with the coronavirus. The hospital began admitting adult patients over a week ago in an attempt to relieve doctors at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, a hospital spokesperson confirmed [November 20]. Intensive care units […]
Washington Post: Smallest health providers face biggest problem finding protective gear amid coronavirus surge. “Most U.S. hospitals and health systems have, over the pandemic’s nine months, stitched together systems and improvisations to acquire masks, gowns, gloves and other personal protective equipment. Yet many small health-care and social-service settings continue to suffer from shortages they expect […]
Daily Beast: Delusional COVID Truthers Try to Invade Hospital Where This Mom Died Too Soon. “A big red heart fashioned with five dozen Post-its was in one of the windows of the intensive care unit at Utah Valley Hospital when the conspiracy theorists pulled into a parking lot that they found to be suspiciously empty. […]
The Atlantic: Hospitals Can’t Go On Like This. “At The Atlantic’s request, HHS provided data on the number of hospitals experiencing staffing shortages. From November 4 to November 11, 958 hospitals—19 percent of American hospitals—faced a staffing shortage. This week, 1,109 hospitals reported that they expect to face a staffing shortage. That’s 22 percent of […]
MIT Technology Review: Ransomware did not kill a German hospital patient. “When a German hospital patient died in September while ransomware disrupted emergency care at the facility, police launched a negligent-homicide investigation and said they might hold the hackers responsible. The case attracted worldwide attention because it could have been the first time law enforcement […]
KSL: Utah Valley Hospital strained by conspiracy theorists trying to enter ICU. “Utah Valley Hospital says a handful of conspiracy theorists recently tried to get into their intensive care unit. Hospital administrator Kyle Hansen told the Provo City Council this week that about five people have attempted to get inside because they question whether the […]
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Running out of room: St. Louis hospitals forced to turn away patients from rural areas as COVID cases soar. “Hospitalizations for COVID-19 are at a dizzying record-breaking climb with no downturn in sight in Missouri and across the Midwest. Emergency rooms are busy with patients waiting for hospital beds to open, hospital […]
STAT News: ‘We’re being left behind’: Rural hospitals can’t afford ultra-cold freezers to store the leading Covid-19 vaccine. “The vaccine, developed by Pfizer and the German firm BioNTech, seems to provide 90% immunity according to early data released on Monday. But there’s a catch: The vaccine has to be stored at -70 degrees Celsius. Typical […]
Tulsa World: No ICU beds available in Tulsa amid COVID-19 case spike. “No intensive care unit beds were available in Tulsa hospitals Monday night amid record-breaking numbers of COVID-19 cases, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Regional Medical Response System confirmed. Adam Paluka, a spokesman for the system’s District 7 in Tulsa, told the Tulsa World […]
New York Times: Europe’s Hospital Crunch Grows More Dire, Surpassing Spring Peak. “More Europeans are seriously ill with the coronavirus than ever before, new hospital data for 21 countries shows, surpassing the worst days in the spring and threatening to overwhelm stretched hospitals and exhausted medical workers. New lockdowns have not yet stemmed the current […]
NPR: Internal Documents Reveal COVID-19 Hospitalization Data The Government Keeps Hidden. “NPR has obtained documents that give a snapshot of data the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services collects and analyzes daily. The documents — reports sent to agency staffers — highlight trends in hospitalizations and pinpoint cities nearing full hospital capacity and facilities […]