As feared, when COVID takes too much of your resources other patients also suffer, with long lines in the ER and patients waiting in hallways because there are no beds. Louisiana is one of those states with a low vaccination rate and people there just aren't getting vaccinated fast enough to cope with the Delta variant.
As sobering as her words are, this four-minute video is well worth your time to watch.
Source: CNN
The ICU of Louisiana's largest hospital is stretched to its limit with Covid-19 patients while others experiencing symptoms were waiting for a bed Monday, an official said.
Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Catherine O'Neal said there were 23 names on the list of those waiting for space to open up in the ICU.
"You have people with chest pain sitting in an ER right now while their families sit in the waiting room, and they are wringing their hands, and they are calling everybody they know," to get into an ICU, O'Neal said during a news briefing Monday.
A little more than two weeks ago, the Baton Rouge hospital had 36 Covid-19 patients, O'Neal said. That number is now 155.
"No one diagnosis should take up one-quarter of your hospital," O'Neal said. "We no longer think we're giving adequate care to anybody, because these are the darkest days of the pandemic."
In 4 minutes & 15 seconds, Dr. Catherine O’Neal states the dire situation in Louisiana at the state’s largest hospital in Baton Rouge. Spoiler alert: she says non Covid infected people are being severely impacted by the inaction of others who won’t mask up, & get vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/RSRy3tjsEg
— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) August 3, 2021
