Sarasota Memorial Hospital is concerned about how much it can handle as COVID-19 cases keep surging locally.
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SARASOTA — All three of Manatee County’s general hospitals have hit capacity as COVID-19 cases keep surging, and that’s got Sarasota Memorial Hospital worried that it will put an increased burden on a hospital that is already seeing record-breaking virus admissions.
“When you start seeing nearby hospitals reach capacity, that means the patients need to go somewhere,” said James Fiorica, Sarasota Memorial’s chief medical officer. “Right now, that’s going to be here.”
There are now 118 patients being treated for COVID-19 at Sarasota Memorial, many of whom are at least 20 years younger than were previously treated at the hospital.
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The hospital previously saw one or two daily COVID-19 hospital admissions. There are now 10 to 15 hospital admissions a day.
“I am concerned; we need a break,” said Fiorica. “We can’t sustain the high volumes long term.”
Sarasota Memorial staffing is at half of its seasonal capacity. The hospital is working to find additional health care workers to handle the surge in admissions. Most of those positions are expected to be filled by August.
Anticipating a continued surge in COVID-19 patients, the hospital on Monday will begin limiting elective surgeries for anyone who will be admitted for more than three days. In the coming weeks, the hospital will shave elective surgeries down 20% or greater to make room for more beds.
More young people are being infected with the coronavirus, and even though they’re less likely to die from it, the increasing younger demographic is partly responsible for Sarasota Memorial Hospital’s record-breaking COVID-19 hospitalizations.
“This is putting people’s bodies through a marathon,” said Kirk Voelker, a critical care specialist and director of clinical research at Sarasota Memorial.
At least 75% of the patients in the intensive care unit are on ventilators. Those patients have a 60% recovery rate and are typically in the hospital for about a month. Younger patients appear to be recovering faster.
Sarasota Memorial is running out of lifesaving treatments for those patients because of nationwide shortages. The hospital is completely out of convalescent plasma, the yellowish liquid part of blood that is collected from patients who have recovered from the novel coronavirus disease.
Unlike other hospitals, Sarasota Memorial receives plasma donations through Suncoast Blood Bank.
“We are on the front lines fighting COVID, and we are out of ammunition,” said Voelker. “The only way to get ammunition is if the community rallies behind us.”
While the hospital has struggled to obtain uncommon blood types such as B, A and AB, Type O — the most common blood type— has also become increasingly hard to find.
To learn how to donate, visit Suncoast Blood Bank’s website at scbb.org.
To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the city of Sarasota and the Town of Longboat Key have enacted mandatory mask ordinances. Sarasota County has largely ignored calls to do the same, instead electing to implement a social media campaign to encourage residents to wear masks and to continue to socially distance.
On Thursday, Sarasota city officials began distributing signs to area businesses reminding residents that face coverings are required indoors and outdoors when social distancing is not possible.
In the coming weeks, Fiorica is concerned about not just bed capacity but pending mortality rate.
“We are getting sicker patients coming in,” said Fiorica. “We may unfortunately lose more patients to this disease. I’m not sure if the community is understanding that.”
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July 17, 2020 at 02:17AM
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As Manatee County hospitals fill, Sarasota Memorial worries - Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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