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.
How do you make a film about Afghan women protesters without being in Afghanistan?
Getting footage from the ground was a challenge for the director of Bread & Roses. The documentary, which profiles three women who engage in protests, is now streaming on Apple TV+.
South Korea’s president declares martial law
South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol declared an "emergency martial law" on Tuesday, accusing the opposition of paralyzing the government with anti-state activities.
As Israel bans UNRWA, Palestinians stand to lose schools and clinics, not only in Gaza
Israel is severing ties with the main United Nations agency that provides aid to Palestinians. With the focus largely on Gaza, the move also threatens key services in the occupied West Bank.
The fight against medical debt is pivoting to the states after Trump’s election
Patient and consumer advocates fear a new Trump administration will scale back federal efforts to expand financial protections for patients and shield them from debt.
One-day strikes are in: Why unions are keeping it short on the picket line
Strikes can be a double-edged sword. Keeping them short can help workers gain leverage while minimizing the pain for those who don’t have it.
U.S. will send Ukraine $725 million more in arms
President Joe Biden has pledged to spend all of the military assistance funds Congress approved this year for Ukraine before the end of his administration on Jan. 20, 2025.
