speechless

This is what has me speechless:

https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-starr-county-hospital-forced-choose-who-sent-home-die-2020-7

A Texas hospital is so overrun with coronavirus cases that officials say it will send the patients least likely to survive home to die

A hospital in Starr County, Texas, is so overrun with coronavirus cases that officials there said it would choose which patients to use its resources on and send those most likely to die back home to their families.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Dr. Jose Vasquez — the health authority for Starr County — said the county was creating guidelines to help health workers decide how to use resources on patients with the best chance of survival.

Vasquez added that a committee would decide which patients were most likely to die at Starr County Memorial Hospital — the only hospital in the county — and would send them home.

"The situation is desperate," he said Tuesday. "We cannot continue functioning in the Starr County Memorial Hospital nor in our county in the way that things are going. The numbers are staggering."

Read more: There are 24 coronavirus vaccine candidates now in human trials. Here's how drugmakers see the race for a cure playing out in 2020.

Vasquez said the county sends coronavirus patients daily to other parts of Texas and to other states, but that hospitals in both Texas and nearby states were now overwhelmed.

Starr County Coronavirus

A medical evacuation helicopter in Starr County, where coronavirus patients are being flown to other hospitals. KVEO/YouTube

"There is nowhere to put these patients. The whole state of Texas and neighboring states have no ICU beds to spare for us," he said, Border Report reported.

The decision is reminiscent of the decisions made by doctors in Italy in March, when that country was being ravaged by the virus. They said they had to choose who to save because of limited resources.

Italy has since brought its outbreak under control.

Texas has become a coronavirus hotspot in recent weeks, with more than 331,000 cases and 4,700 deaths recorded.

Read more: Morgan Stanley just shared a detailed timeline of the coronavirus pandemic. Here's when analysts think the US will get a vaccine and let people return to work.

"We are going to have these committees reviewing each case," Vasquez said.

He added that for some patients, "We believe they will be better taken care in the love of their own family and home rather than thousands of miles away dying alone," CBS News reported.

Starr County had successfully fought the coronavirus in the early days of the pandemic.

But Vasquez said cases started to increase "in an exponential and alarming way" after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott decided to reopen the state from late April, CBS News reported.

Jose Vasquez

Jose Vasquez of the Starr County Health Authority during an interview about the county's coronavirus outbreak. KVEO/YouTube

Joel Villarreal, the mayor of Rio Grande City — one of the cities in Starr County — said, "What we did here was a model for the rest of the nation to follow, but it was lost."

Texas state data shows that the county, which has 64,000 residents, went from 642 coronavirus cases on July 1 to 1,519 cases on July 23.

Starr County Judge Eloy Vera issued an emergency stay-at-home order because of the coronavirus on Wednesday.

It said that people are "ordered to shelter-at-home in their residence" and that businesses are recommended and encouraged to suspend any activities that can't be done curbside, as a drive-thru, or as take-out.

Vera also wrote on the county's Facebook page on Thursday that the county was "seeing the results of socialization during the 4th of July, vacations, and other social opportunities."

"Unfortunately, Starr County Memorial Hospital has limited resources and our doctors are going to have to decide who receives treatment, and who is sent home to die by their loved ones," he said.

"This is what we did not want our community to experience."

He urged people to stay home: "We can turn this around in two weeks. WE CAN DO IT. STAY HOME as much as possible. God bless you."

.

"

1. I agree Newbie, they're both stupifying!
2. I don't know where that 1 came from.  I'm gonna blame it on my Kindle being "special"  today !

I can see the problem the hospitals are in.  In other cultures it is acceptable for hospitals to send patients home so they can die with loved ones and family around them.   

But to send a person dying of covid-19 home will help to spread this to the family members.  It seems a poorly thought out problem, or it is a major cry for help from the hospital.

No it wouldnt happen here,

We have universal health cover.....

Your insurance dosnt run out if you lose your job.....or get too sick !! 

We are not communists....

Once your admitted to hospital they have a 

"Duty of Care"

 you can't leave unless a doctor signs off ,

When your well enough

To leave.....

Or in a box if that's the case.........

One thing I can't understand about America is your total lack of health far for your own people.....

We pay a Medicare levy on our tax,so we do pay into a central fund ,and if your sick you show your Medicare card they take number you covered for medical ,

Please don't think I'm having a go at your system.   Just pointing out ours ,you decided which is better, 

And if you think your could be improved VOTE for change.....

Just saying.....😉

P.S. my cousin  (English expat)lives in Wisconsin,she works, but if she needs a doctor she flies to UK....nuff said......

It's 45 dollars here to see doctor no time limit , you get $30 back from Medicare,usually transaction is done there and then   at the doctors reception....

On average everyone in Aus pays 1% of their taxable income towards Medicare.......

You can also have private insurance ,means you get seen quicker usually by same specialist as public system.....

Only problem with paying private is,

If you can do longer afford the premiums you end up in the public system anyway,so I'm all for a good public Medicare system....