MedStar reports spike in COVID-related patients in its North Texas service area since June
As COVID-19 cases rise in Tarrant County, MedStar is reporting a 136% increase in COVID-19 related patients since June.
On average, the ambulance service is screening about 116 potential COVID patients a day, up from about 64 in July and 49 in June.
The average number of potentially stable COVID-related patients treated and not transported to a hospital is nine per day, an increase from May when the average number was one every three days, according to a MedStar report released Tuesday.
MedStar’s COVID Non-Transport protocol, established March 25, 2020, redirects patients experiencing low symptoms to their primary care provider instead of transporting them to a hospital.
MedStar’s service area mostly consists of Tarrant County.
Tarrant County reported 689 new cases Monday, with COVID-related hospitalizations increasing by 73 to 1,067. COVID patients made up 27% of the 3,945 occupied beds.
Chief Transformation Officer Matt Zavadsky said MedStar receives a lot of 911 calls from people who think they have COVID but are not experiencing severe symptoms. Because COVID tests are not conducted in the ER, he said there’s no reason for someone to go to the hospital just to get tested.
The typical cases MedStar has seen in patients who aren’t transported are people who are breathing normally and show signs of good respiratory health, he said. Conditions that warrant transportation to a hospital include difficulty breathing, chest pain, altered consciousness and high fever.
To find a COVID testing site visit Tarrant County Public Health’s website.
