All-Star Covid-19 / Varsity Response

[luv2cheer92]

All of California is going back to a full-fledged lock-down within days now. They claim this is necessary to stop the overcrowding of ICUs. I've never worked in healthcare, but why can't major hospitals create another ICU wing to accommodate rising numbers of patients? Or transfer patients to hospitals in more remote areas with more available space? The lock-down is supposed to last 3 weeks, but if this is like last time, it will last months. Covid numbers are skyrocketing despite nobody being able to walk into a public place without a mask on. I don't get it.

I hate how politicized this virus situation has become. It seems teams/gyms from certain states with Democratic governors are going to be at a disadvantage compared to states with Republican governors. It seems Democrats are supposed to want strict lock-downs and Republicans are supposed to want no restrictions at all. How about a happy medium between the two? Do other countries politicize absolutely everything like we do in the US? It's so divisive and depressing and it just feels like everything is about politics instead of genuinely trying to find solutions to keep people safe and well.

I work in a hospital that is the main hospital for a very large area. We just opened up the 4th Covid unit, there is no room for another one. We have no beds, you can't just keep making room. We have stopped all elective surgeries that require an overnight stay because there is simply no room for them. We have 5 hospitals that are associated with us, known as critical access hospitals, that are in smaller, rural areas. These hospitals do not have the necessary equipment or training to handle Covid patients. We are trying to send less critical patients there, but they are full as well. Many of our patients (Covid and not) are not safe to go home right from the hospital and need to go to a rehab facility first. Pretty much all of those facilities in our area are not accepting patients due to Covid outbreaks or are full as well, so those patients just have to stay at the hospital until there is room for them somewhere else, or they are safe enough to go home. Taking up more room than they would in normal situations. I understand that not everyone works in healthcare, but I truly believe you just wouldn't understand it unless you did and were seeing it and dealing with the struggles every single day. But trust us, it really is as bad as people make it out to be.

The hospital in my parent's town is not accepting any patients at all, no walk-ins to the ER, no ambulances, nothing, because there is no room for them. And that one is the only hospital for a large rural area. The hospitals are truly getting overwhelmed.

 

[Keep_Believing]

I work in a hospital that is the main hospital for a very large area. We just opened up the 4th Covid unit, there is no room for another one. We have no beds, you can't just keep making room. We have stopped all elective surgeries that require an overnight stay because there is simply no room for them. We have 5 hospitals that are associated with us, known as critical access hospitals, that are in smaller, rural areas. These hospitals do not have the necessary equipment or training to handle Covid patients. We are trying to send less critical patients there, but they are full as well. Many of our patients (Covid and not) are not safe to go home right from the hospital and need to go to a rehab facility first. Pretty much all of those facilities in our area are not accepting patients due to Covid outbreaks or are full as well, so those patients just have to stay at the hospital until there is room for them somewhere else, or they are safe enough to go home. Taking up more room than they would in normal situations. I understand that not everyone works in healthcare, but I truly believe you just wouldn't understand it unless you did and were seeing it and dealing with the struggles every single day. But trust us, it really is as bad as people make it out to be.

The hospital in my parent's town is not accepting any patients at all, no walk-ins to the ER, no ambulances, nothing, because there is no room for them. And that one is the only hospital for a large rural area. The hospitals are truly getting overwhelmed.

Is that in the Dallas area?

 

[luv2cheer92]

Is that in the Dallas area?

No it is in VA. My parents are in WV.

 

[catlady]

I work in a hospital that is the main hospital for a very large area. We just opened up the 4th Covid unit, there is no room for another one. We have no beds, you can't just keep making room. We have stopped all elective surgeries that require an overnight stay because there is simply no room for them. We have 5 hospitals that are associated with us, known as critical access hospitals, that are in smaller, rural areas. These hospitals do not have the necessary equipment or training to handle Covid patients. We are trying to send less critical patients there, but they are full as well. Many of our patients (Covid and not) are not safe to go home right from the hospital and need to go to a rehab facility first. Pretty much all of those facilities in our area are not accepting patients due to Covid outbreaks or are full as well, so those patients just have to stay at the hospital until there is room for them somewhere else, or they are safe enough to go home. Taking up more room than they would in normal situations. I understand that not everyone works in healthcare, but I truly believe you just wouldn't understand it unless you did and were seeing it and dealing with the struggles every single day. But trust us, it really is as bad as people make it out to be.

The hospital in my parent's town is not accepting any patients at all, no walk-ins to the ER, no ambulances, nothing, because there is no room for them. And that one is the only hospital for a large rural area. The hospitals are truly getting overwhelmed.

I believe the struggles in your area and I'm sorry.

From a ER Dr on our neighborhood blog after someone posted the heartbreaking viral photo of the Houston dr hugging the C-19 patient that had worked 245 straight days and captioned it "Thank you neighborhood front liners.":

"Thank you for your gratitude. Something that needs to be shared is our hospitals are built to run at near to full capacity at all times or they lose money, they just don't want to be full of COVID19. When the media does a country wide hype and hysteria of "OMG the hospitals are almost full" and posts pictures such as this one, it's unfortunately backfiring. People have medical friends and family sharing their stories with their friends and family, and when they don't see or hear the same level of intensity in their area, people become desensitized and disbelievers. This is the folk tale of "Henny Penny" playing out before us. Every front liner truly appreciates the gratitude, and I know everyone means well by sharing these stories and images in hopes people will listen, but please stop sharing them. Some areas areas are truly hotspots while others are doing business as usual, and we desperately want and need people to believe their officials and medical staff when it peaks in their area."

 

[luv2cheer92]

I believe the struggles in your area and I'm sorry.

From a ER Dr on our neighborhood blog after someone posted the heartbreaking viral photo of the Houston dr hugging the C-19 patient that had worked 245 straight days and captioned it "Thank you neighborhood front liners.":

"Thank you for your gratitude. Something that needs to be shared is our hospitals are built to run at near to full capacity at all times or they lose money, they just don't want to be full of COVID19. When the media does a country wide hype and hysteria of "OMG the hospitals are almost full" and posts pictures such as this one, it's unfortunately backfiring. People have medical friends and family sharing their stories with their friends and family, and when they don't see or hear the same level of intensity in their area, people become desensitized and disbelievers. This is the folk tale of "Henny Penny" playing out before us. Every front liner truly appreciates the gratitude, and I know everyone means well by sharing these stories and images in hopes people will listen, but please stop sharing them. Some areas areas are truly hotspots while others are doing business as usual, and we desperately want and need people to believe their officials and medical staff when it peaks in their area."

Yea not even gonna fully respond to that. Its not that they're full, its that we can't take people or have to turn people away that need to be here.

 

[Knowcheering]

I work in a hospital that is the main hospital for a very large area. We just opened up the 4th Covid unit, there is no room for another one. We have no beds, you can't just keep making room. We have stopped all elective surgeries that require an overnight stay because there is simply no room for them. We have 5 hospitals that are associated with us, known as critical access hospitals, that are in smaller, rural areas. These hospitals do not have the necessary equipment or training to handle Covid patients. We are trying to send less critical patients there, but they are full as well. Many of our patients (Covid and not) are not safe to go home right from the hospital and need to go to a rehab facility first. Pretty much all of those facilities in our area are not accepting patients due to Covid outbreaks or are full as well, so those patients just have to stay at the hospital until there is room for them somewhere else, or they are safe enough to go home. Taking up more room than they would in normal situations. I understand that not everyone works in healthcare, but I truly believe you just wouldn't understand it unless you did and were seeing it and dealing with the struggles every single day. But trust us, it really is as bad as people make it out to be.

The hospital in my parent's town is not accepting any patients at all, no walk-ins to the ER, no ambulances, nothing, because there is no room for them. And that one is the only hospital for a large rural area. The hospitals are truly getting overwhelmed.

Thanks for this info and I appreciate what you healthcare workers do. We hear about areas setting up makeshift hospitals when in need (some of which have hardly been used), so I didn't imagine things were that bad. I figured some hospitals could take a regular wing of a hospital and turn it into a makeshift ICU. It's warm in California, and if they're that desperate, they could even provide some care outdoors in tents. Obviously this is all easier said than done, and people like me who aren't in healthcare aren't going to fully understand the challenges of it. But the hospitals in my area are always crowded and at just about full capacity, so when I see headlines like "The hospitals are almost full! We're doomed!", I'm thinking, aren't hospitals always full? They're supposed to be.

Regardless, I'm not all that convinced that strict lock-downs where they pick and choose what is allowed to be open (you can go shop for clothes, but you can't go for a tumbling private) can have that much of an impact on ICU overcrowding. If anything, barring people from work/school and their normal daily activities will result in more congregating in people's houses, where everyone is unmasked.

I would love to trust all these governors, but it's obvious that some of the decision making has been political in nature. Event producers are trying to move their competitions to states that aren't exactly low in Covid numbers, but simply have Republican governors. It's kind of absurd how much politics dictates everything.

 

[luv2cheer92]

Thanks for this info and I appreciate what you healthcare workers do. We hear about areas setting up makeshift hospitals when in need (some of which have hardly been used), so I didn't imagine things were that bad. I figured some hospitals could take a regular wing of a hospital and turn it into a makeshift ICU. It's warm in California, and if they're that desperate, they could even provide some care outdoors in tents. Obviously this is all easier said than done, and people like me who aren't in healthcare aren't going to fully understand the challenges of it. But the hospitals in my area are always crowded and at just about full capacity, so when I see headlines like "The hospitals are almost full! We're doomed!", I'm thinking, aren't hospitals always full? They're supposed to be.

Regardless, I'm not all that convinced that strict lock-downs where they pick and choose what is allowed to be open (you can go shop for clothes, but you can't go for a tumbling private) can have that much of an impact on ICU overcrowding. If anything, barring people from work/school and their normal daily activities will result in more congregating in people's houses, where everyone is unmasked.

I would love to trust all these governors, but it seems obvious that some of the decision making has been political in nature. Event producers are trying to move their competitions to states that aren't low in Covid numbers, but simply have Republican governors. It's kind of absurd how much politics dictates everything.

Transitioning a regular wing into an ICU isn't as easy as it seems. ICUs use significantly different equipment and much more equipment than regular floors do. The rooms are generally double the size to fit all the extra equipment. So it's not always as easy as just adding an extra unit. As I mentioned above, it's not about the hospitals being full, of course they are meant to be full. It's the fact that people are being turned away or being discharged sooner than they may need to be because there is no room for them.

A lot of the restrictions come down to necessities, of course not all though. You need food, you need clothes, you don't need a tumbling private. It's about minimizing the risk as much as possible, but there are things that need to be open.

 

[cheermomforever]

Thanks for this info and I appreciate what you healthcare workers do. We hear about areas setting up makeshift hospitals when in need (some of which have hardly been used), so I didn't imagine things were that bad. I figured some hospitals could take a regular wing of a hospital and turn it into a makeshift ICU. It's warm in California, and if they're that desperate, they could even provide some care outdoors in tents. Obviously this is all easier said than done, and people like me who aren't in healthcare aren't going to fully understand the challenges of it. But the hospitals in my area are always crowded and at just about full capacity, so when I see headlines like "The hospitals are almost full! We're doomed!", I'm thinking, aren't hospitals always full? They're supposed to be.

Regardless, I'm not all that convinced that strict lock-downs where they pick and choose what is allowed to be open (you can go shop for clothes, but you can't go for a tumbling private) can have that much of an impact on ICU overcrowding. If anything, barring people from work/school and their normal daily activities will result in more congregating in people's houses, where everyone is unmasked.

I would love to trust all these governors, but it's obvious that some of the decision making has been political in nature. Event producers are trying to move their competitions to states that aren't exactly low in Covid numbers, but simply have Republican governors. It's kind of absurd how much politics dictates everything.

Agree there’s a NJ comp today.....because sports is banned supposedly tomorrow.....only open to NJ teams because that’s safer than allowing other state teams....makes perfect sense to me. Lol

 

[catlady]

Yea not even gonna fully respond to that. Its not that they're full, its that we can't take people or have to turn people away that need to be here.

??? My post didn't dispute anything you said, in fact I said, "I believe the struggles in your area and I'm sorry."

Instead of double posting, the next paragraph was to share what a ER doctor said about the constant hype and hysteria from the media stating the hospitals are almost full 24/7 and his comment of people sharing images and stories is backfiring instead of helping. You may feel his opinion is buffoonery, but I tend to believe his "Henny Penny" reference is pretty spot on. It's hard to maintain and stay sensitive to a National level of high alert, safety practices, and at times, income sacrifices for 270+ days with leaders stating "I don't see an end in sight." The sky can only keep falling for so long before people throw up their hands and go back to life, especially when the bills don't stop and they have no income coming in.

 

[luv2cheer92]

??? My post didn't dispute anything you said, in fact I said, "I believe the struggles in your area and I'm sorry."

Instead of double posting, the next paragraph was to share what a ER doctor said about the constant hype and hysteria from the media stating the hospitals are almost full 24/7 and his comment of people sharing images and stories is backfiring instead of helping. You may feel his opinion is buffoonery, but I tend to believe his "Henny Penny" reference is pretty spot on. It's hard to maintain and stay sensitive to a National level of high alert, safety practices, and at times, income sacrifices for 270+ days with leaders stating "I don't see an end in sight." The sky can only keep falling for so long before people throw up their hands and go back to life, especially when the bills don't stop and they have no income coming in.

Sorry, my response was to the quote, not you. My main point is that from my perspective and the perspective of so many (hundreds) of colleagues all over the country is that the media is not overstating things. But I get the other side. I think I got a little worked up last night because I still have so many friends rejecting wearing a mask and hanging out in large groups and doing things that just don't need to happen right now, plus I had a tough day at work dealing with it all happening right in front of me. So I apologize.

 

[Cheermom1979]

We went to this event. It was interesting. No spectators- and very strict on who can enter / stay in the building. Teams had to meet outside and head straight to warmups. Some teams had no issue but then they started to run late and teams were standing outside for an hour. They had exit immediately after the performance. Crossovers had a hard time- because they were forced to immediately exit and weren’t allowed back in without a coach- but their coach is already with the crossover team at warmups.
Girls said that if felt like practice and others said they were very aware of the judges. All in all we were glad we went. Not sure when we will be able to compete again and so happy we were able to have at least this one Comp.

Agree there’s a NJ comp today.....because sports is banned supposedly tomorrow.....only open to NJ teams because that’s safer than allowing other state teams....makes perfect sense to me. Lol

 

[catlady]

Sorry, my response was to the quote, not you. My main point is that from my perspective and the perspective of so many (hundreds) of colleagues all over the country is that the media is not overstating things. But I get the other side. I think I got a little worked up last night because I still have so many friends rejecting wearing a mask and hanging out in large groups and doing things that just don't need to happen right now, plus I had a tough day at work dealing with it all happening right in front of me. So I apologize.

No worries, and I'm really sorry about your work and the stress.

 

[cac4life]

Battle at the capitol just turned virtual

 

[Knowcheering]

Agree there’s a NJ comp today.....because sports is banned supposedly tomorrow.....only open to NJ teams because that’s safer than allowing other state teams....makes perfect sense to me. Lol

So they held the competition on a Friday because sports there will be banned on Saturday? Did people pull their kids from school (if anyone actually is in school) for a local competition? And out-of-state teams weren't allowed to drive over the state border to attend because it would have put everyone at greater risk? lol this year is insanity. I'm surprised the competition even happened.

 

[cheermomforever]

So they held the competition on a Friday because sports there will be banned on Saturday? Did people pull their kids from school (if anyone actually is in school) for a local competition? And out-of-state teams weren't allowed to drive over the state border to attend because it would have put everyone at greater risk? lol this year is insanity. I'm surprised the competition even happened.

yeah much safer to have just NJ teams there than other states.....