How bad is the latest flood of COVID patients in Louisiana hospitals? More than a fourth of the state's hospitals are now turning people away, according to a Louisiana Department of Health doctor.
State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says he's hearing it from dozens of Louisiana hospitals:
"It's rather unprecedented," said Dr. Kanter, "It's 50 hospitals in the state, saying 'I cannot care for all the patients coming into my door; I need help.'"
Dr. Kanter says there are only about 200 hospitals in the state -- fewer, when you account for psychiatric facilities and other more specialized care centers that don't take general medical admissions.
"Almost 15 percent of every ER visit right now is someone coming in with these types of symptoms," he told WWL's Newell Normand. "Having 50 hospitals say 'we need help, we can't meet the volume we're seeing' is a real drastic an unprecedented measure."
And unlike earlier surges, when there weren't enough intensive care units, or ventilators, or PPE, this time, they just don't have enough doctors and nurses.
"The real limiting factor right now, actually, for most hospitals, not every hospital, but for most hospitals, is not physical space, although that's getting tight right now, it's staff," said Dr. Kanter. "It's trained staff that can adequately care for these patients.
