EXETER, NH (CBS) — New Hampshire hospital leaders are warning that the state’s health care system is under strain due to the latest spike in COVID-19 cases.
“We want the public to know that the health system in the whole of New Hampshire is in the most difficult situation I have seen in my 25 years as an emergency physician,” said Dr. Exeter Hospital said.
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On Friday, New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services announced 1,450 new positive cases.
Meehan said 25 to 35 percent of patients at Exeter have COVID. Other patients have delayed care, causing effusion problems.
“We are operating at more than 100% capacity and that has been going on for days. Our emergency room is up to 125 people, 150% of our capacity,” Meehan said.
The hospital is getting creative to deal with the flow by treating patients with effusions in the surgical recovery area and even in a decontamination chamber.
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Chief Nurse Donna McKinney says the situation is also affecting staff mental health.
“If you think about the beginning of COVID, there was praise for the medical staff. There was a recognition. It’s great. It’s not there anymore,” McKinney said.
On Thursday, New Hampshire’s Health and Human Services Commissioner asked lawmakers to be flexible in spending federal funding to address the state’s hospital bed shortage.
“What we do know is that our hospitals are moving patients as far away as Connecticut and Albany, New York, to get the right level of care they need,” said Commissioner Lori Shibinette.
Meehan and McKinney are now begging the public to get vaccinated and wear masks.
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“We have a lower vaccination rate than the rest of New England and we really need to improve on that. It’s probably the number one thing we can all do right now,” Meehan said.
https://boston.cbslocal.com/2021/12/03/new-hampshire-hospitals-covid-cases/ NH hospitals strained by surge in COVID cases – CBS Boston
