UAB Hospital Braces For ‘Terrifying’ Increase in COVID Hospitalizations
As Alabama extends its statewide mask order, UAB Hospital is preparing for what could be a “terrifying” increase in COVID hospitalizations.
“We are exhausted and it’s only the beginning,” said UAB’s Chief of Hospital Medicine Dr. Kiersten Kennedy during a press conference Wednesday.
Kennedy said public health experts predict the hospital’s COVID patient load to double by next week. As of Tuesday afternoon, the hospital was caring for 140 inpatients.
UAB is reducing elective procedures, expanding capacity in Intensive Care Units and recruiting more staff to keep up with increasing demand.
“When you start to get overwhelmed with all these COVID volumes, it decreases your ability to care for the non-COVID patients,” Kennedy said.
COVID patients currently occupy about 13% of hospital beds in Jefferson County, home to UAB, the state’s largest hospital. In other counties, COVID patients occupy more than 30% of hospital inpatient beds, with Fayette and Tallapoosa counties nearing a 40% occupancy rate.
Kennedy said if something does not change soon, hospitals across Alabama could become overwhelmed and unable to care for patients.
“I don’t think any of us has lived during a time where we’ve had to worry that if we got really sick, that if you came to a hospital, people would not be able to rush you back and take care of you immediately,” she said, “And what we’re saying is that we are reaching that point.”
Kennedy said UAB Hospital is starting to see patients who contracted COVID while traveling or gathering for the Thanksgiving holiday. She urges people to avoid gathering for Christmas and New Years.
Fire-making materials at 400,000-year-old site are the oldest evidence of humans making fire
Archaeologists in Britain say they've found the earliest evidence of humans making fires anywhere in the world. The discovery moves our understanding of when humans started making fire back by 350,000 years.
Trump calls affordability crisis a “hoax,” touts the economy ahead of midterms
As Democrats campaigning on affordability pick up wins, Trump's messaging about a strong economy is at odds with widespread voter sentiment that he's not doing enough to tackle rising costs.
Senate to vote on dueling health care proposals as ACA premium hikes loom
The Senate is set to vote on dueling health care proposals. Both plans are likely to fail, even as Affordable Care Act premiums are set to skyrocket at the end of the year.
This refugee’s family faced persecution in Bhutan. Now, he could be deported there
Mohan Karki's family and others with Nepali ancestry were persecuted and driven out of Bhutan in the 1990s. Karki himself was born in a refugee camp in nearby Nepal. Yet, the U.S. government claims he is a Bhutanese citizen and seeks to deport him there.
Will U.S. military strikes slow drug overdose deaths? Experts say no
President Trump says U.S. strikes on supposed drug-smuggling boats will save Americans from overdose deaths. But most experts worry the strategy is counterproductive.
The best albums of 2025
If there’s one question that professional music lovers hear most often, it’s some variation on: “Heard any good albums lately?” We always have, of course, but when it came time […]
