Idaho rationed care

It seems 

"Love thy neighbour,as you do yourself"has lost meaning......

Take care all 😷😉💉

https://theweek.com/delta-variant/1005051/fauci-not-disappointed-by-fda-advisory-panels-covid-19-booster-recommendation

Idaho hospitals deal with having so many coronavirus patients that they now have the option of rationing health care, the newest member of the state's largest public health board, a doctor who has called COVID-19 vaccines "fake" and "needle rape," is settling in.

Ryan Cole, a pathologist in Boise, has replaced Dr. Ted Epperly on the Central District Board of Health. Epperly served on the board for 15 years, but was ousted because he supports taking public health measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Cole, who was backed by the Ada County Republican Party, was chosen by the Republican county commissioners, who said they liked his "outsider" perspective and how he "questioned" medical guidance, The Washington Post reports. The sole Democratic commissioner objected to Cole's appointment. 

Cole has spent much of the pandemic on the right-wing media circuit downplaying the virus and touting unproven treatments for it, like the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin. During an event this summer in San Antonio, he called the coronavirus vaccine "fake" and "needle rape," later telling KTVB it was a "tongue-in-cheek" comment. 

Idaho has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the United States, with just 40 percent of residents fully vaccinated, and the state is seeing a surge in new infections and hospitalizations. The Idaho Medical Association released a statement last week saying by choosing Cole, the commissioners "favored politics over public health" and Cole's claims about the coronavirus and vaccine "do not align with the Idaho standards of care." Epperly told the Post that watching "my state implode over political decisions that have adverse consequences on health is horrifying to me. ... That's the tragedy that I'm watching unfold."

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/wa-hospitals-stretch-care-idaho-covid-19-patients/

Washington hospitals are full, working together to shift patients around the state during the recent COVID-19 surge. Now there is a new demand on resources: COVID-19 patients from Idaho seeking care in eastern Washington. Hospital leaders said there is little room to help.

“We are keeping our heads above water — but barely,” said Dr. Chris Baliga, an infectious disease doctor at Virginia Mason in Seattle. “We’re stretched. Do we get transfers from Idaho? Yes, we do. Are we helping? Yes. But is our capacity limited? Yes.”

Hospitals across the state are canceling surgeries and procedures to free up hospital beds for COVID-19 patients.

According to the Washington State Hospital Association, 95% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated. Those who are vaccinated have other medical conditions; they’re transplant patients or undergoing cancer treatment.

Now patients from Idaho are trickling into Washington’s already overwhelmed health care system.

Federal Emergency Management Agency sent in military doctors and nurses to help in Idaho. At this point, it doesn’t appear Washington hospitals will be getting reinforcements.

The Washington State Hospital Association reached out to the National Guard. “We don’t think there will be relief from the National Guard. We have made inquiries about that with the state, and they really feel like those resources are deployed elsewhere and won’t be available to us,” said Briley.

Gov. Jay Inslee expressed his frustration with Idaho leaders last week. There is no mask mandate, and the vaccination rate of residents 12 and older sits at around 45%. “We certainly need our friends in Idaho government to do more to preserve their citizen’s health because we know their medical crisis is becoming our problem,” said Inslee.

“The majority of our patients are not vaccinated. The majority of our patients who expire are not vaccinated, and I always sit there and wonder, ‘What if they had gotten vaccinated?’” said Dr. Baliga.

https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2021/09/idaho-hospitals-begin-rationing-health-care-amid-covid-surge.html

Excerpts…

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho public health leaders announced Tuesday that they activated “crisis standards of care” allowing health care rationing for the state’s northern hospitals because there are more coronavirus patients than the institutions can handle.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare quietly enacted the move Monday and publicly announced it in a statement Tuesday morning — warning residents that they may not get the care they would normally expect if they need to be hospitalized.

The state’s crisis guidelines are complex, and give hospitals a legal and ethical template to use while rationing care.

Under the guidelines, patients are given priority scores based on a number of factors that impact their likelihood of surviving a health crisis.

Those deemed in most in need of care and most likely to benefit from it are put on priority lists for scarce resources like ICU beds.

Others in dire need but with lower chances of surviving will be given “comfort care” to help keep them pain-free whether they succumb to their illnesses or recover.

The move allows hospitals to allot scarce resources like intensive care unit rooms to patients most likely to survive.

Other patients will still receive care, but they may be placed in hospital classrooms or conference rooms rather than traditional hospital rooms or go without some life-saving medical equipment.

Other states are preparing to take similar measures if needed. Hawaii Gov. David Ige quietly signed an order last week releasing hospitals and health care workers from liability if they have to ration health care.