As Fort Worth hospitals fill up, public encouraged to celebrate New Year holiday safely
Fort Worth hospitals maintain they have sufficient capacity to care for patients despite growing coronavirus admissions, but with the impact of the recent Christmas holiday and New Year’s Eve and Day unclear, people are being urged to take precautions to slow the virus’ spread.
“It’s definitely a very trying time,” said Joseph DeLeon, president of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth, noting that the system is well prepared. “COVID is certainly growing in huge leaps, and our staff and our team are dealing with many moving parts.”
As of Tuesday, 28% of available Tarrant County hospital beds were occupied by coronavirus patients and 87% of beds were occupied by patients of all types, according to the county. That translates to 1,374 patients in hospitals with the virus, a pandemic high.
The county reported 914 available beds, and 97% of ICU beds occupied. Brian Murnahan, a spokesman for Tarrant County Public Health, said there were 13 ICU beds available in the county Wednesday.
There has been an upward trend in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations since Thanksgiving in Tarrant County, said Rajesh Nandy, an associate professor of biostatistics and epidemiology in the University of North Texas Health Science Center’s School of Public Health.
It generally takes about 10 days to see the impact of an event like Christmas on the virus’ spread, Nandy said. The current increasing trend coupled with an additional spike from Christmas and the New Year, were that to occur, could be “catastrophic.”
“The trend is really moving in a bad direction,” he said.
Texas on Monday reported a record 11,351 hospitalizations. That record was broken the next day when the state reported 11,775 hospitalizations and again Wednesday when 11,992 were reported. There were 17,458 new COVID-19 cases reported in Texas Wednesday.
Carrie Kroll, the vice president of advocacy, quality and public health for the Texas Hospital Association, said COVID-19 fatigue is likely a contributing factor to the recent increases in the state.
“I think that people just have lost sight of how bad the disease is in Texas, as far as community spread,” Kroll said.
And in a pandemic, normal health care emergencies don’t stop, she said.
“People are arriving daily to have babies,” Kroll said. “They’re arriving daily because they’ve had a stroke or a heart attack… So it’s imperative that we have space to provide that emergent and necessary care, in addition to providing assistance to people who come down with COVID.”
Tarrant County Health Director Vinny Taneja, giving a Tuesday briefing on available ICU beds in Tarrant County, urged people to wear masks and avoid crowds to preserve hospital space. He said the community doesn’t want to be in the position where doctors are having to decide where to prioritize care.
“Hospitals have pandemic surge plans, so let me not, you know, scare people that they... don’t have the capacity. They do,” Taneja said. “It’s that, do you really want to stretch that capacity?”
He continued, “We already know we’re thin on staffing. Staff have been working in the hospitals for close to 10 months dealing with a lot of COVID and other illness. They’re tired. Some of them had COVID. They had family members that had COVID. Some of them died. So do you really want to stretch that system?”
Baylor Scott and White All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth has sufficient capacity, according to a Tuesday statement from the hospital system. But, like in the weeks after Thanksgiving, it is starting to see an increase in COVID-19 cases in the community and hospitals following recent holiday gatherings.
“To continue ensuring that our hospitals are ready for those who need care most during this time, we ask that the public embrace a sense of urgency in following the recommended guidelines of physical distancing, masking and practicing good hand hygiene as we approach the New Year’s Eve holiday,” the statement reads.
John Peter Smith Hospital is caring for the highest number of coronavirus patients at the hospital since the pandemic began, said spokesperson Diana Brodeur on Tuesday. JPS reported having 162 COVID-19 patients at the hospital Tuesday. As of Wednesday, 159 patients were being treated for COVID-19.
Cook Children’s Medical Center reported 21 COVID-19 patients in the hospital Wednesday. Spokesperson Kim Brown said the hospital has seen an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations in recent months but has not seen the same kind of impact that hospitals serving adults have.
DeLeon, president of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth, said the hospital is resourced adequately and appropriately, but that critical care beds are a stressor for the hospital.
“The hospital is not full in the technical sense, but the critical care beds is where we’re the most challenged today,” he said.
The number of critical care beds available and occupied at the hospital changes frequently, but spokesperson Stephen O’Brien said Wednesday “the situation is very, very serious.”
“We are extremely busy at Texas Health Fort Worth and stressed at numerous other spots throughout our system,” O’Brien said in an email. “Our inventory of PPE and ventilators remains strong, but our supply of caregivers is being stretched to their limits. They’re working their hearts out to care for those in need – both COVID-19 patients and others in need of critical care. That’s why we continue to ask everyone to wear masks, wash their hands, socially distance and avoid large crowds.”
DeLeon remained confident Tuesday the community will not run out of room for patients.
“In a large system like THR and the other providers in the community, there is coordination between their hospitals,” he said. “I don’t think that we’re going to run out of beds. I think the larger stress is going to be on staff and keeping staff healthy, which is why it’s been really such a relief to see the vaccine.”
The pandemic has had wide-ranging impact on personnel when it comes to safety and support, Kroll said. Staff are working long, tough hours. Some have left the job because of the emotional stress, she said.
“It’s hard to bring your A-game to such a hard disease day after day,” Kroll said. “We have a lot of sympathy and we have tried to build supports around our staff in that sense.”
This story was originally published December 30, 2020 at 5:06 PM.
