(WWJ) Nearly 580 nurses and other staff members at the Henry Ford Health System have either tested positive for COVID-19 or are in quarantine after exposure to the virus.
Putting it into perspective, the 576 nurses and staff members represent a little less than 2% of staff across the Henry Ford Health Systems’ five campuses.
However, Henry Ford Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Adnan Munkarah said he is “very concerned.”
“The staffing shortage is not peculiar to the Henry Ford Health System, but we are seeing it across the state and across the nation because of the fact that so many people are exposed through their family members or their community.”
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) reports 103 people are hospitalized with a confirmed case of the virus at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit with 36 in the Intensive Care Unit. 83% of the beds are full, including all patients regardless of COVID-19 status.
Henry Ford West Bloomfield is caring for 61 patients with a confirmed case of the virus, and 6 in the ICU.
Henry Ford Wyandotte: 72 COVID-19 patients, 10 in the ICU.
Henry Ford Macomb has been hit hardest of all thus far with 161 COVID-19 positive patients, 25 of them are in the ICU. The hospital in Clinton Twp. is at 96% capacity.
“We have seen people come to the hospital and say please don’t let me die, I was a fool by not wearing a mask, by not social distancing. These are real life stories. We have lost lives among friends, staff, community members, family members to COVID-19,” Munkarah said.
Many Michigan health systems are telling workers to come in even if they have been exposed to the virus out of fear they will not have enough staff to care for patients otherwise, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The Free Press reports Beaumont Health and Michigan Medicine are the two health systems in southeastern Michigan with that policy. However, the staff is still required to follow the CDC's Return to Work policy, including wearing a mask and paying attention to their symptoms.
Henry Ford was not listed in the article.
More than 4,100 patients are hospitalized with a confirmed or suspected case of the virus across the state. About 2,100 are in Macomb, Oakland, Wayne, Washtenaw, Livingston and St. Clair counties.
Hospitalizations have nearly quadrupled since mid-October.
More than 500 people are on ventilators statewide, according to MDHHS.
This comes as the state confirms 8,689 new cases and 81 deaths in the past 24 hours. The state has confirmed more cases since mid-October than in the first six months of the pandemic combined.
More than 9,660 Michiganders have died after testing positive for the virus out of just over 389,000 total cases, according to MDHHS. The statewide fatality rate stands at 2.5%, a drastic decrease from 10% in the early days of the pandemic.
Over 165,269 Michiganders are considered recovered after surviving 30 days since testing positive for the virus.
A modeling study published in Nature Medicine found if 95% of Americans wore a mask over their nose and mouth in public, 130,000 lives could be saved in the U.S.
alone.
The CDC is also urging people to wash their hands often for at least 20 seconds, socially distance by at least six feet or more, and avoid gatherings and unnecessary outings. With holidays just around the corner, they are also beseeching Americans to avoid traveling and getting together with people outside their household.
This is the final hurdle before the likely release of at least two vaccines—Moderna and Pfizer—which are expected to be rolled out in limited quantities before the end of the year. The CDC said it will likely be available by March or April to the general public.
The 8-month-long and counting battle against this virus is taking an emotional toll of doctors and nurses.
Still, Munkarah said the fight will continue no matter what for as long as it has to.
“We are not going to get tired of doing it, because this is our job and responsibility. To help people, to help our communities get to a better place,” he said. “To protect the health of our patients and our staff, and we are not going to be distracted by politics or other issues.”
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