Officials warn crisis standards may soon spread

At a press briefing Tuesday, Dave Jeppesen, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare director, said a shortage of health care staffing and blood supplies led to Monday’s decision to move the Southwest Health District to crisis standards of care. Should that trend continue, he expects other parts of the state will follow suit, he said.

Across the state, the positivity rate in Idaho is roughly 34%, with some counties testing more than 50% positive. That number does not account for people who take at-home tests.

In the North Central District, there were 268 new cases Tuesday. One COVID-19 death was recorded, a Latah County woman in her 80s. Tuesday also saw 46 new cases in Asotin County, five new cases in Garfield County, and 153 in Whitman.

Because so many people are infected, one of the biggest impacts to the health care system has been staffing at hospitals, Jeppesen said. Similar shortages have also meant long-term care facilities are at times unable to take hospital discharges.

Though the majority of omicron cases don’t lead to hospitalization or death, the sheer number of infections around the state and country has increased hospitalization rates and has overwhelmed health care workers, many of whom are also out on COVID-19 leave, said Steven Nemerson, chief clinical officer for the Saint Alphonsus Health System in Boise.

At Saint Alphonsus, the number of staff out with COVID-19 in the past few days ranged between 117 and 169, he said. The ability to stretch staff and expand to other spaces isn’t there as it was in previous surges, he said — in part because of staff shortages, and in part because of burnout among those who are still there. Hospitals have also lost providers in the past year from burnout.

“(Staff) just don’t have the physical and emotional capacity to be able to work at the level that they were able to before, which was an incredibly frenetic pace,” he said. “It’s one of the things that keeps me awake at night … (How do we) deliver the very best care without continuing to traumatize the people that have to care for those patients?”

Staffing shortages are also one of the driving factors for the blood shortage, as people call out sick and donations are canceled. There are also fewer first-time donors because of concerns about the virus.

That shortage has resulted in most health systems in the state implementing blood conservation strategies.

Nemerson said as a major trauma center for the state, officials at Saint Alphonsus are worried that despite conservation efforts, the allocation of blood products will not be able to keep up with demand.

In addition to trauma patients, blood shortages could impact cancer patients who require regular transfusions, and women who are delivering babies, Nemerson said.

To try and address the blood shortage, the Division of Public Health implemented a critical blood supply task force with key hospitals and suppliers, said Boise area administrator Elke Shaw-Tulloch.

“They’re reporting on their blood product inventory on our daily calls, and they’re supporting the sharing of resources to the extent possible across hospitals, but more needs to be done,” she said. “You’ve heard hospitals report their inventories as low as one unit of blood until the next allocation comes in.”

January is national blood donor month, Shaw-Tulloch said, and the public is encouraged to make an appointment to donate blood or platelets as soon as possible by visiting AmericasBlood.org or calling (202) 393-5725.

Despite challenges to hospitals, people still need to seek health care services if they need it, Jeppesen said.

It’s also incredibly important for people to wear high-quality masks, avoid crowds and wash their hands often, he said. Getting vaccinated, receiving a booster and getting flu shots can also reduce the strain on the health care system.

“Like you, I wish we could be done with the pandemic,” Jeppesen said. “But unfortunately, the pandemic is not done with us.”

This report is made possible by the Lewis-Clark Valley Healthcare Foundation in partnership with Northwest Public Broadcasting, the Lewiston Tribune and the Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Sun may be contacted at rsun@lmtribune.com or on Twitter at @Rachel_M_Sun.