NEENAH, WI (WTAQ) — There are only two ICU beds remaining at Thedacare Hospital in Neenah as of Tuesday morning.
CEO Imran Andrabi says that although the current COVID-19 surge is less deadly than previous surges, it’s actually been worse overall.
“We are worse off this time around, to tell you the truth,” Andrabi told reporters Tuesday. “This time around there are a lot more consequences to COVID. There’s less mortality, there is some, but people are staying more time in the hospital.”
He asked the community to re-adopt early pandemic COVID-19 protocols and wear masks in public during a press conference on Tuesday.
“We are here to take care of patients with COVID,” Andrabi said. “But we are also here to take care of patients with trauma, cardiac issues, smoke, heart attacks, pancreatitis, cancers.”
Some patients have had to be sent to other hospitals.
Physical bed space, Andrabi says, is less of an issue than staffing. He estimates Thedacare is in need of around 200 additional employees to keep up with demand. He cited burnout, retirements, and a lack of interest in the healthcare field as reasons behind the staffing shortage.
According to the Wisconsin Hospital Association, as of Monday, 92.3% of intensive care beds in the Fox Valley region were in use.
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