Providence Health Care has provided an update on their COVID-19 response, highlighting staffing challenges and potential concern over school reopening and other factors that could put even more strain on an already taxed healthcare system.
Providence says that capacity at Sacred Heart Medical Center and Holy Family Hospital is “still a significant issue,” pointing to a continued increase in COVID-19 patients and limited staffing to be the cause.
Even with the current strain on the healthcare system, Providence still urges the community to seek help when they need it.
However, Providence says there is concern that school reopening and the Labor Day holiday could potentially increase both cases and hospitalizations. Due to this concern, Providence says it is critical for people to wear masks around others outside of their home, including at school.
Providence says while they have seen a small increase in breakthrough cases of COVID-19, most people hospitalized with COVID-19 are not vaccinated. They continue to strongly encourage everyone who is eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Additionally, Providence says there is increasing evidence that vaccines are important during pregnancy, at any stage, and they endorse the CDC’s recommendation that pregnant people get vaccinated for COVID-19, and talk to their doctors about vaccination. Providence says that across their system, which covers 53 hospitals in multiple states, they have treated pregnant people with COVID-19 on ventilators.
Providence also says they are starting a “labor pool” approach at Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children’s Hospital as well as Holy Family Hospital. They are asking their non-hourly staff who aren’t “actively supporting” their COVID-19 response to work shifts outside of their regular duties within the hospital, to help with overall staffing challenges.
Additionally, Providence is communicating with their employees regarding Governor Inslee’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, which carries a deadline of October 18 for all healthcare workers to be fully vaccinated by.
Providence says they will continue to reschedule non-emergency surgeries and procedures, looking ahead approximately two weeks when considering each surgery/procedure.
On the topic of COVID-19 treatment, Providence says they are beginning to offer Monoclonal antibodies in Spokane, and hope that by next week they will have more information to share about it.
