'Crisis Across Our Medical System' In WA, Hospitals Warn

OLYMPIA, WA — The Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) warns that the state's hospitals are now more full than they've ever been before, and are calling on lawmakers to take greater action to reduce their burden before hospitals overflow.

At a WSHA media briefing Thursday, Executive Vice President Taya Briley reported that Washington had averaged 1,800 hospitalized patients each day over the past week. That's about 100 hospitalizations above the previous record, set at the peak of the delta wave last fall.

"This is the worst situation hospitals in Washington state have been in compared to any prior point during the pandemic," Briley said.

The more-transmissible omicron coronavirus variant has driven a 65 percent increase in new COVID-19 cases over the past week. Washington's hospitals are averaging 226 new COVID-related hospitalizations each day, and between 12 and 20 deaths.

While local hospitals have not yet begun "crisis standards of care" — that's decided by the state, and involves rationing treatment, ventilators and ICU beds for patients who are more likely to survive — WSHA says it's not far off, and many hospitals have already adopted "crisis staffing," resulting in significant delays in treatment for some patients.

"The surge of omicron cases, on top of hospitals already crowded with patients who do not need hospital care, is creating terrible delays of care and backups," Briley said.

Briley joined other medical leaders Thursday in calling on the state to help out, by lifting barriers to guardianship for patients who are ready to be discharged, and giving more funding to nursing homes and long-term care facilities, so they can better treat COVID-19 patients in-house.

"If those patients were moved out, we would have adequate space or staff to manage the surge of COVID-19 patients," Briley said.

Similar requests were shared last week by the Washington State Medical Association (WSMA) — an organization representing over 12,000 physicians, residents, medical students, and physician assistants across Washington — which wrote a letter to Gov. Jay Inslee and Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah, calling on them to declare a state of crisis for local hospitals.

"The time has come to officially make the call; we are in a state of crisis," the letter opens. "As physicians, we know when we can do no more for our patients, and that time is now."

The WSMA and WSHA both called on Inslee to mobilize the National Guard to assist struggling hospitals. Inslee announced Thursday afternoon he would be deploying 100 guardsmen to do just that, alongside a month-long pause in non-urgent hospital procedures. However, guardianship barriers and other concerns remain.

While the hospital association awaits further action from the state, WSHA is also calling on regular Washingtonians to do their part to lift the burden. That means staying out of the hospital by getting vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19, wearing medical masks in public, avoiding large gatherings, and not seeking emergency treatment unless they have severe or life-threatening COVID-19 symptoms.

"People who just need COVID-19 testing or who are not very ill should not be going to the emergency department for care," Briley said. "Unless people are having life-threatening symptoms, please stay away from the hospital or emergency department and discuss treatment options with primary care providers."