Tested by the pandemic, Colorado hospital leaders and frontline providers have responded with what they describe as an unusual level of collaboration and innovation. The Colorado Hospital Association recently said it and the state’s hospitals and health system had created the Combined Hospitals Transfer Center, a system for moving patients between hospitals.
The center would be activated if the number of patients needing transfer outstripped the capacity of the hospitals. Transfers would be determined by data so patients get the care they need without overloading a particular hospital, the CHA said. The plan is if a hospital reaches capacity or can’t provide the needed level of care for a patient it would contact the center. The center will decide what hospital in the region or state can provide that care and has the capacity, while also considering proximity and patient preference.
“One of the best practices we learned from other states that have already responded to significant outbreaks was to stand up a statewide transfer center,” said Dr. Darlene Tad-y, CHA vice president of clinical affairs. “This will allow us to respond rapidly to capacity issues that a city or region of Colorado may face.”
By the end of December, models suggest ICU beds could hit capacity
A desire to not overload the health system guides many of the public health decisions. As of Nov. 4, 10 percent of hospitals anticipate staffing shortages in the next week and 4 percent anticipated a shortage of personal protective gear, the same percent said they anticipated a shortage of ICU beds.
If COVID-19 cases grow too sharply, every part of the system gets stressed, from nurses and doctors to supplies like personal protective equipment to scheduled surgeries.
By the end of December, ICU beds, which host the sickest patients, could hit their capacity, according to state disease modeling.
“It's the weeks more around Thanksgiving and beyond where now we're starting to be potentially concerned that COVID cases plus our traditional hospitalizations may overwhelm our staff and our beds,” France said.
In the worst-case scenario, hospitals would activate what is called “crisis standards of care,” a decision-making process to determine who gets what care first, should the number of patients outstrip the ability to care for them. Utah’s hospitals at the end of October said hospitalizations were so high they were considering a move to that posture.
“It's a constant concern,” said Dr. Anuj Mehta, a pulmonologist with National Jewish Health, who also works in Denver Health’s ICU. Mehta helped develop Colorado’s guidelines. “Obviously the concern decreased over the summer... And now, right, the concern is there every single day.”
Mehta said hospitals and other health care providers purchased more ventilators and made advances in deciding when to use them on patients.
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November 05, 2020 at 06:10PM
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Colorado's Coronavirus Third Wave Is Here - Colorado Public Radio
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