Unvaccinated COVID patients are wreaking havoc with a small North Shore health system.
For example, the North Oaks Health System in Hammond is what could happen if the Delta variant-driven pandemic gets completely out of control.
“Right now 50% of our patients are COVID positive,” said Michelle Sutton, CEO of North Oaks Health System in Hammond.
She says her health system is pushed to the limit.
“We’ve already opened a surge ICU. We had to discontinue elective surgeries so we could turn a recovery room into a third ICU. So now I’m running three full ICUs.”
Sutton says her health care workers are worn out and overworked. And others are infected with the Delta Variant they caught from unvaccinated patients.
“We’re asking for help to get staffing. Because we have 62 employees out with COVID right now. We have beds, but we don’t have people to staff them.”
Overworked healthcare workers, an overloaded hospital. Sutton talks about the state of her hospital:
“Five, six, stretchers lining up in our Emergency Room hallway with the EMS drivers standing by waiting to offload but I don’t have a room to put them in.”
This is why we mask, so hospitals like one on the North Shore don't have to go this.
“Help us, our staff is seeing the deaths of young people. We’re not accustomed to that. We’re here to save lives, improve lives, today—this morning—we had a 24-year-old die of COVID, unvaccinated.”
This nightmarish look at a hospital could be things to come if we don’t start taking masking, mitigation, and vaccinations seriously.
“Health care workers are heroic, they’re heroes, but this has been a long 17 months.”
