South Florida hospital workers weary, seek help
After five months of long, emotional days treating patients with the novel coronavirus, South Florida hospital workers desperately want the public’s help.
Weary doctors and nurses at 10 Broward and Miami-Dade hospitals say they cannot combat the virus alone and have launched a campaign asking the public to wear masks, social distance and wash their hands. They also want people to go to the right place for “appropriate” care for their COVID-19 symptoms rather than flood hospitals. That could be a virtual health visit, or a trip to an urgent care center, or a hospital emergency room.
South Florida has been a hot spot for positive cases, and in recent weeks local hospitals have experienced a surge of coronavirus patients, many who need a high level of care. Now, healthcare workers want to send this message: “Together we can make a difference.”
On the campaign website, CaringforSouthFlorida.org, the hospitals urge people to step up prevention. They also people with chronic conditions to continue preventive care, which will help avoid ER visits for illnesses that reach critical stages.
“This is a unified message for the community to adhere to safety precautions and stop the spread of the disease,” said Kerting Baldwin, a spokeswoman for Memorial Health System, which had nearly
600 patients with COVID-19 on Monday. “The high number of positive cases eventually translates to more people who need hospitalizations and intensive care.”
Baptist Health South Florida, Broward Health, Cleveland Clinic Florida, HCA East Florida, Jackson Health System, Memorial Healthcare System, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Nicklaus Children’s Health System, Tenet Health, and University of Miami Health System united to launch the campaign.
“We are all working long hours, risking our lives to help people,” said Dr. Jerome Wilkerson, a physician at Westside Regional Hospital in Plantation, which had all of its 37 intensive care beds filled on Wednesday, according to Florida’s Emergency Surveillance System. “We want people to feel comfortable coming to the ER and not to delay emergency care. We also want people to help us by handwashing, wearing a mask and keeping distanced.”
The campaign comes as South Florida records hundreds of new positive cases each day and hospitalizations continue to rise. On Wednesday, Broward County has less than 16% total bed capacity and Miami-Dade had 17%. Palm Beach has not had the same level of surge in COVID-19 patients and had 28% capacity. Many hospital ICUs in all three counties reported being at capacity.
In recent weeks, Broward County hospitals have received overflow from Miami-Dade patients, and health experts are concerned that Palm Beach County could soon see a similar pattern. The surge in hospitalizations has required bravery and dedication from hospital staff who put themselves at risk. At Broward Health Imperial Point, 30 nurses are out sick with the virus or in isolation from exposure.
Last week, Broward hospital leaders urged government officials to crack down more on people who go without masks or gather in big groups.
Meanwhile, Florida’s death toll from disease complications has reached record levels this week. The state has reported 998 deaths over the past seven days.