Lee Health faces jams in emergency rooms
The publicly-operated Lee Health is nearing 100% bed capacity and its emergency rooms are facing long wait times, prompting hospital leaders to urge the public to seek alternative care options for minor illnesses.
Southwest Florida is seeing a very busy season with winter residents and tourists, coupled with an increase in respiratory illnesses of flu, RSV and COVID-19, Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser, chief medical officer for Lee Health, said Wednesday.
Flu season in Southwest Florid usually begins peaking in the region in late January and early February.
Last fall national public health experts warned of a “tripledemic” of the three respiratory illnesses when hospitals in the Midwest and elsewhere around the U.S. were crowded beyond bed capacity while the threat had yet to hit Florida.
More recently, some national reports show the country may have avoided the triple threat during the holidays.
More:Post holiday spike in COVID-19 cases hits Southwest Florida
The advisories are worst-case projections and the triple threat from respiratory illnesses after the holidays was not as bad as it could have been, but it is real, Gonsenhauser said.
“We are not seeing anything differently than the rest of the nation,” he said.
On Tuesday, Lee Health’s emergency rooms handled 1,040 visits, which has been the trend in recent weeks and some patients with non-life threatening illnesses are forced to wait when they could be getting faster care elsewhere, he said. Patients with life-threatening needs are taken care of first.
Patients with minor illnesses could be using online telehealth visits or DispatchHealth, a mobile program started about 18 months ago at Lee Health where a nurse practitioner and a second professional come to the patient’s home, said Armando Llechu, chief officer of hospital-based care at Lee Health.
More:Southwest Florida hospitals provided millions in charity care and unpaid services in 2021
About 80 of the hospitalized patients Wednesday out of the staffed capacity of 1,700 beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients, Llechu said. He did not offer a breakdown of how many are flu or RSV patients.
A week ago Lee Health had 111 patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
Llechu said a press conference Wednesday was not so much about bed capacity or COVID-19 but about the long waits in the emergency rooms that could be for hours and avoided. The hospitals can still handle more admissions, he said.
More:Hundreds of patients impacted as crisis unit still closed three months after Ian
In Collier County, the emergency rooms at the NCH Healthcare System are seeing 9% higher volume now compared to last year at this time yet flu appears to have peaked and is now on the decline, NCH spokesman Shawn McConnell said.
In addition, cases of RSV have plateaued, he said.
What is RSV and how does that differ from flu?
RSV is an infection of the lungs and respiratory tract with symptoms similar to a common cold.
Mild case symptoms can include congested or runny nose, dry cough, low-grade fever, sore throat, sneezing, and headache, according to the state health department. In severe cases, RSV symptoms may include fever, cough, wheezing, rapid or difficulty breathing, or bluish skin color.
Both flu and RSV are not reportable illnesses to the state Department of Health, which means hospitals are not required to report their case numbers to the state. The public health department monitors illness trends.
Health departments in both Lee and Collier said last week that COVID-19, flu and RSV have been increasing.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports roughly 6% of hospitals beds in both counties are occupied by COVID-19 patients.
Lee’s case rate is 95 new infections for every 100,000 population while Collier’s is 108 new cases per 100,000. The data is from Jan. 5.
Here are tips to protect your family
Here are steps for parents to protect yourself and your children from respiratory illness:
Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces.
Stay home if you are sick and keep children home if they are sick.
Cover your mouth and nose when sneezing and coughing. If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve or elbow, not your hands.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Season is here and that means Lee Health's emergency rooms are crowded
