Staff and ICU bed shortages lead to long wait times for many patients
Dr. Paul Palecek is the ER medical director at Grand Itasca hospital in Grand Rapids, Minn.
Courtesy of Cassi Chrzanowski |
By Catharine Richert
Earlier this month, Paul Ulstrom's dad had his second stroke in a year. He was immediately taken to the emergency room in Chaska, Minn.
“We sat there for eight hours waiting for a room, which is really frustrating,” said Ulstrom.
Last year, when Ulstrom's dad had his first stroke during the most severe wave of COVID-19 to date, his care team found a bed faster.
This time, the wait was so long, Ulstrom says his dad was scared.
"There was a look in his face, and it breaks my heart because I could tell he was really worried,” Ulstrom said.
Finally, the Chaska hospital found a bed in St. Paul and Ulstrom's dad is stable now.
But what happened to Ulstrom and his father is a story playing out over and over again in emergency rooms around the state, and especially in smaller hospitals where there are few ICU beds to begin with.
COVID hospitalizations have taken a sharp turn upward, a trend that health officials say could have been avoided if more people had been vaccinated. Staff shortages are contributing to a shortage of available hospital beds, too. [Continue reading] | | |
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