COVID-19 Tidal Wave Sweeping Ohio, ODH Leader Says

OHIO — Ohio's COVID-19 spread is hitting unseen rates and the state's hospitals are buckling under the strain, according to Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health.

As hospital systems and doctors literally plead with Ohioans to get vaccinated, hurt or sickened patients are waiting longer and longer for care, Vanderhoff warned. Hospitals throughout the state are delaying surgeries and seeing extended wait times in emergency rooms.

"When people flood emergency rooms looking for COVID-19 tests or are severely ill with COVID-19, it makes it difficult for everyone to get access to the lifesaving care they need," Vanderhoff said. That means people with broken bones or other immediate medical concerns may have to wait extended periods for treatment, he said.

More than 90 percent of critical COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated, according to Dr. Dave Custodio, president of Summa Health System Akron and St. Thomas Hospitals. All nonessential surgeries that require an inpatient bed — like hip surgeries and other replacements — have been postponed at Custodio's hospitals to preserve beds and free up staff.

On Tuesday, the Ohio Department of Health confirmed 12,500 new cases of COVID-19 among Ohioans and nearly 600 hospitalizations. Eighty-one COVID-19-positive Ohioans were admitted to intensive care units in that same 24 hour period.

"COVID-19 is relentlessly seeking out those who are not well protected. Choosing not to get vaccinated is simply a gamble with your health," Vanderhoff said. Less than 60 percent of Ohioans have started the COVID-19 vaccination process, according to the state health department. Only approximately 2.4 million Ohioans have received their booster.

Still, even if every Ohioan immediately got a COVID-19 vaccine, Vanderhoff noted, hospitals would have to wait weeks before cases and hospitalizations diminished due to the lag before immunity kicks-in. To provide relief now, Ohio is utilizing a two-pronged approach: deploying the Ohio National Guard and contracting for out-of-state assistance.

Deploying the Guard

To bolster the state's hospitals, and provide some relief for doctors and nurses, the Ohio National Guard is deploying more than 1,000 members to Ohio medical facilities, with a particular focus on hard-hit northern Ohio counties.

Of the 1,000 Ohio National Guardsmen being deployed, 150 clinical staff and 600 non-clinical staff will be deployed by the end of the week. The remaining 300 non-clinical staff should be deployed the week after, Vanderhoff said.

The deployment will happen in waves, but these hospitals will receive clinical and non-clinical reinforcements soon:

• Mercy Health in Mahoning County
• Mercy Health St. Joseph in Trumbull County
• Cleveland Clinic Akron General Medical Center in Summit
• Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital in Stark
• Summa Akron City in Summit
• ProMedica Toledo in Lucas
• Mercy Health St. Vincent in Lucas

"More hospitals are being actively evaluated and will likely be added," Vanderhoff said.

Additionally, the Ohio National Guard opened a COVID-19 testing site in Cleveland on Tuesday. Demand was so high initially that the site was quickly backlogged and began turning away registered attendees.

Out-of-State Help

Ohio is contracting with an agency to bring in out-of-state nurses and doctors to backup Ohio's front-line workers. Vanderhoff believes this will open additional beds and speed up care for non-COVID-19 patients.

"This will enable larger hospitals to accept more transfers," he said.