As coronavirus hospitalizations skyrocket, some hospitals delaying elective surgeries
As surging coronavirus cases from the Delta variant impacts hospitals across the Triangle, some are now reevaluating when to perform certain surgeries.
Posted — UpdatedOn Monday, a 74-year-old woman had an emergency and said she just couldn't wait.
"She was weak, not coherent, and she was in pain," described her sister, Corinne Hanrahan.
Hanrahan, who is the mother of WRAL.com lifestyle editor Kathy Hanrahan, said she drove her sister to UNC Rex Hospital. They arrived at 11 a.m.
What would typically be a short check-in process, turned into a very long delay.
"We sat in that waiting room [waiting] for a bed in the back until 11 o'clock that night," said Corinne Hanrahan. "We were with so many people that were so sick, many people that needed to be seen. Some of them were old, [and] some of them were young."
Health officials said almost every hospital is seeing the same signs: lots of patients but a lack of beds and staff.
"We are very full throughout the hospital, and our COVID beds are filled," said Dr. Lisa Pickett, with Duke University Health System.
Duke Health is now evaluating elective surgeries every week.
"We are pretty full in terms of emergency and the hospital at large," said Dr. Abhi Mehrotra, with UNC Health.
UNC Rex is facing the same dilemma and conducting the same evaluations. Meanwhile, Johnston Health is currently pausing elective surgeries that require an overnight stay. Cape Fear Valley Medical Center has put up its overflow tent.
On Thursday, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported 3,083 people were currently hospitalized with the virus. That's the highest number of hospitalizations since Jan. 27.
Despite the surge, doctors said someone experiencing an emergency shouldn't bypass the hospital
“If you have something serious, [like] a stroke or heart attack or having trouble breathing, please come to emergency department," said Pickett. "That is what we are here for.”
As Corinne Hanrahan's sister is back home recovering, she said all she can think about right now is the workload health care workers are facing.
"The nurses and doctors who are handling all of this ... they are under a lot of pressure," she said, adding that she was grateful for the efforts of health care workers.
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