3 in 4 hospitals in the U.S. are treating patients with COVID-19
Three out of four U.S. hospitals surveyed are already treating patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, according to a federal report that finds hospitals expect to be overwhelmed as cases rocket toward their projected peak.
A report Monday from a federal watchdog agency warns that different, widely reported problems are feeding off each other in a vicious cycle. Such problems include insufficient tests, slow results, scarcity of protective gear, the shortage of breathing machines for seriously ill patients and burned-out staffs anxious for their own safety.
“There’s this sort of domino effect,” said Ann Maxwell, an assistant inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services. “These challenges play off each other and exacerbate the situation. There’s a cascade effect.”
The inspector general’s report is based on a telephone survey of 323 hospitals around the country, from March 23-27. With hundreds of new coronavirus cases daily, the situation is becoming more dire for many the nation’s 6,000 hospitals. Others can still scramble to prepare.
“Hospitals reported that their most significant challenges centered on testing and caring for patients with known or suspected COVID-19, and keeping staff safe,” the report concluded.
“It’s likely that every hospital in America is going to have to deal with this,” Maxwell said.
In most people, the coronavirus causes mild to moderate symptoms. Others, particularly older people and those with underlying health issues, can develop lifethreatening breathing problems. The U.S. has more diagnosed cases in the global pandemic than any other country, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Projections show the nation will see the peak impact later this month.
Maxwell said the key insight from the report is that different problems — usually addressed individually — are building on each other to entangle the whole system.
For example, a lack of testing and slow results means hospitals must keep patients with unconfirmed coronavirus disease longer.
That takes up precious beds and uses up protective equipment such as gowns, masks and face shields, since doctors and nurses have to assume that patients with symptoms of respiratory distress may be positive.
The increased workload raises the stress on clinical staff, who are also concerned they may be unable to properly protect themselves.
“Health care workers feel like they’re at war right now,” a hospital administrator in New York City told the inspector general’s investigators. They “are seeing people in their 30s, 40s, 50s dying. … This takes a large emotional toll.” The inspector general’s office did not identify survey respondents due to privacy concerns.
Of the 323 hospitals in the survey, 117 reported they were treating one or more patients with confirmed COVID-19, while 130 said they were treating one or more patients suspected to have the disease. Suspected infections are treated similarly, because of the uncertainties around testing.
Only 32 hospitals said they were not treating any patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. Another 44 hospitals did not provide that information.
“Hospitals anticipated being overwhelmed by a surge in COVID-19 patients, who would need specialty beds and isolation areas for effective treatment,” the report said.
The head of a group representing forprofit hospitals said Monday that, on top of the problems in the report, facilities are finding that COVID-19 patients take long to recover.
“We are finding that their lengths of stay are much longer than comparable illnesses like pneumonia and flu, and they are requiring a lot of drugs,” said Chip Kahn, president of the Federation of American Hospitals.