Our hospitals operate on a normal business model. It both contains cost and helps ensure efficient distribution of resources. Consequently, hospitals do not have a large percentage of beds and critical equipment. They have just enough to accommodate ordinary business and some surge capacity. That is why you see actual covid percentages less than 20 or 30 percent, but a full hospital. Those covid patents represent the surge capacity a hospital may have never needed before, or only when there was a mass causality event. Essentially covid patients have represented one continuous mass causality event for weeks on end. But their actual demand on a hospital is not critical. If covid admissions push a hospital to 100%, even though covid might amount to just 10% ,staff may work their butts off, but only because of the work load in the aggregate. The press and the government does not explain this even though most of the data is out there. Easy to just say your local hospital is at 98% because, well, covid. What else?
Oh and that line of cars outside an ER is just as likely people waiting to have a sprained ankle get an xray or someone scared over a fever who staff have asked to wait in their cars versus sit in the waiting room. Because covid. And wouldn't you rather wait in your car listening to the game or a pod cast. I consider it innovative. More please.
www.npr.org
