(WWJ) Spectrum Health System in West Michigan is expanding its ICUs and deferring surgeries as it nears capacity with COVID-19 patients.
Painting a troubling picture, Spectrum Health CEO Tina Freese Decker said Wednesday that the number of COVID patients has tripled across their 14 hospitals.
"The reality is that Spectrum Health and our hospitals across the state will be hitting their capacity in a matter of days," Freese Decker said, during a a virtual press conference.
“We are facing some of the most daunting and demanding challenges since this pandemic began. COVID-19 is surging across our state and we are heading in the wrong direction," she added.
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“We must change this trajectory of community spread. This is why we need our community’s help and support. We need to flatten this curve like we did last spring."
Freese Decker said around 14% of those tested for the virus are now coming back positive -- over four times the rate from just two months ago.
And it's not just older people.
"What we're seeing in our hospitals is that COVID-19 is affecting all groups, young and old, cutting across all populations," Freese Decker said.
"We are starting to see more deaths in the last three weeks. The mortality rate for those hospitalized with COVID-19 in west Michigan is about one in every ten people."
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Freese Decker says she expects Spetrum hospitals will reach capacity within days, and as other hospitals in Michigan have also been affected by this latest surge in cases, they won't be able to send them elsewhere.
To help clear the way for COVID patients, Freese Decker said Spectrum is moving other people to outpatient setting whenever possible; offering curbside care and virtual appointments, too.
Spectrum West Michigan President Dr. Darryl Elmouchi they also looking into the possibility of using field hospitals.
"This would be like Cobo Hall [now TCF Center] in Detroit, " Elmouchi told reporters. "We are in active discussions with local and state officials about different alternative care sites."
Spectrum, meanwhile, is tightening visitor restrictions effective Thursday. Adult inpatients and emergency room patients will not be allowed any visitors, except for those in ICU and end-of-life care.
This news comes amid a surge in coronavirus infections in Michigan.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday reported another 6,008 new confirmed cases. That brings the statewide total to more than 229,000. MDHHS said another 42 people have also died from the virus, bringing the death toll to more than 7,700 throughout the pandemic.
Nearly 129,000 people infected in Michigan since March are now considered officially recovered. Get more state COVID-19 statistics, including updates on outbreaks, at this link.
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