Kootenai Health says they are nearing hospital capacity due to the current COVID-19 surge the area is experiencing.
Using patient data to spell out how concerning the situation is, Kootenai Health says that on July 28, they had 29 COVID-19 patients hospitalized with 11 of those patients requiring critical care. Two weeks later on August 11, there were 73 COVID-19 patients hospitalized with 29 needing critical care. As of today, 85 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized, and 36 of them require critical care.
This past winter, it took 58 days for Kootenai Health to see a surge in COVID-19 patients from 28 to 87. Right now, it took only 21 days to hit that mark, and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down.
Kootenai Health says they aren’t sharing these numbers with the intent to frighten, but to show what could lie ahead if the current COVID-19 trends continue. Their data shows that the Delta variant is spreading much faster and causing more severe illness than earlier variants of COVID-19. Kootenai Health says that it’s also affecting younger people, with patients 18-60 years old making up about half of those hospitalized for COVID-19, compared to just 20% during the winter surge.
Right now, Kootenai Health has canceled elective surgeries and say they no longer have the capacity to receive patient transfers from regional hospitals. They say hospital leaders and physicians are “critically concerned” they will not have the space, equipment, and staffing to provide care for everyone in the community who needs it.
“Kootenai Health and its medical staff have explored every possible option to ensure care is available to everyone who needs it,” the hospital said in a news release, ” We are now imploring our community to add their efforts to ours. We are asking every individual and family to do their part to prevent and slow the spread of COVID-19. Please get vaccinated for COVID-19, wear a mask when out in public, avoid optional large gatherings, practice social distancing and wash or sanitize your hands frequently.”
