'We Need Your Help': King County Hospitals Share Public Plea
SEATTLE — Several King County hospitals joined with the health department and the Washington State Hospital Association over the weekend to issue a call-to-action as the region's health care system continues to struggle with a prolonged surge in hospitalizations in the wake of a record surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the omicron variant.
Hospital leaders penned a full-page advertisement in the Sunday edition of The Seattle Times, warning that widespread impacts — including canceled surgeries and other delayed healthcare — would continue until case counts decline substantially. While King County's COVID-19 metrics have started to improve, and case counts recently plateaued, transmission remains high and hospitalization rates have fallen less dramatically. Deaths continue to rise.
"While there are promising signs with cases on the decline the past few days, King County hospitals are still under tremendous strain from increased hospitalizations, staff shortages and difficulty discharging patients who no longer need care," officials wrote Monday. "In the previous month, COVID-19 hospitalizations increased over 700 percent from 8 to 70 people hospitalized each day."
Public Health - Seattle & King County said hospitals were already contending with critical capacity issues even before the omicron surge, due in part to growing non-COVID-19 care needs and a backlog in surgeries. The increase in COVID-19 patients accelerated the stress.
Related: WA Hospitals Straining Under 'Staggering Number Of Cases'
"We've already had to cancel most surgeries — delaying care that would help someone live a better, healthier life," Sunday's bulletin read in part. "As long as cases remain high, there will be even more serious impacts on access to lifesaving healthcare. Maybe even your own."
The call-to-action included six ways that residents can help make a difference:
Get vaccinated. Many COVID-19 patients in our hospitals are unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated. Vaccines work extremely well to reduce serious infections. Data from Public Health – Seattle & King County shows the risk of hospitalization and death is far greater compared to those who are fully vaccinated. Vaccines are available at sites throughout King County.
If you are vaccinated, get a booster. It’s the best protection against needing to be hospitalized from the omicron variant. Everyone ages 12 and older should get a booster dose.
Upgrade your mask. If available, use an N95, KN95, KF94 or surgical mask. Wear the most protective mask you can and make sure that it fits well.
Avoid crowded indoor spaces. Gatherings will be safer in well-ventilated spaces.
Save the ER for emergencies. Do not go to the Emergency Room for treatment of mild illness or for COVID-19 testing.
Do not delay routine healthcare visits. Talk to your primary care provider about routine medical care to help avoid needing more advanced medical care in the future.
"The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most serious threats to the health of the public in our lifetime," said Dr. Paul Ramsey, CEO at UW Medicine. "While our healthcare workers continue to provide life-saving patient care under the most difficult circumstance, our call to action is urgent. We need the support of the entire community to bring the current surge under control and to preserve our capacity to provide every person with advanced medical care when needed in our hospitals."
Sunday's letter was signed by Public Health - Seattle & King County, the Washington State Hospital Association, MultiCare Health System, Overlake Medical Center & Clinics, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle Children's, Snoqualmie Balley Hospital, Swedish, UW Medicine and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health.
The full letter can be found below:
This article originally appeared on the Seattle Patch
