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Colorado hospitals can turn away patients amid resurgence in COVID-19 cases

Colorado hospitals can turn away patients amid resurgence in COVID-19 cases

Colorado hospitals grappling with an inflow of COVID-19 cases now not have to simply accept new patients, following an government order by Governor Jared Polis. 

The Democrat’s order on Sunday got here as hospital capability throughout the state dropped to lower than 10%. The edict applies to hospitals which have hit, or are nearing, their cap on the variety of patients they’re outfitted to deal with. It authorizes the Colorado Division of Public Well being and Setting to “order hospitals and freestanding emergency departments to transfer or cease the admission of (and redirect) patients to respond to the current COVID-19 Disaster Emergency in Colorado.”

Polis said his actions will assist “address the staffing shortages in hospitals,” which he termed “severe.” 

The governor’s order provides native well being care employees extra latitude to determine who will get handled first in an emergency. The order additionally coincides with a state mandate requiring well being care employees be totally vaccinated towards COVID-19, with 92% of Colorado’s hospital employees now immunized. 

Regardless of having terminated 119 employees for refusing to get vaccinated, UCHealth, one of many state’s greatest well being programs, mentioned the mandate helped enhance staffing amongst its workforce of 26,500. 

“With broad vaccination rates, fewer employees are testing positive for COVID-19 and needing to be out of work while they recover,” a UCHealth spokesperson told Colorado Public Radio. 

Dr. Michelle Barron, senior medical director of an infection management and prevention for UCHealth, instructed the radio station that she discovered it “unfortunate that there were individuals that had to be let go.” However she added, “I also feel strongly they don’t belong in health care.” 

Polis final week mentioned Colorado on Monday would begin transferring monoclonal antibody treatment out of medical facilities to a fleet of cell clinics. 

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Colorado are at their highest since final yr, earlier than vaccines have been available. Masks are non-compulsory, and eating places are operating at full capability in most components of the state, with Polis reluctant to revive statewide restrictions. The state’s positivity price is operating above 8%.

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