I keep getting text alerts about our area hospitals running out of ICU beds. They want us to stay home.
Let's talk about another way we can free up ICU beds for possible "COVID" patients. Or just free up regular floor beds in general. Or just not run our hospitals into the ground period.
Don't weigh 400lbs and come in septic because the wounds forming between your fat folds due to lack of circulation get infected.
Don't be an alcoholic and come in with Delerium tremens requiring an ICU bed for phenobarb drips.
Don't forget to take your insulin for your type one diabetes and go on an alcohol and drug bender and end up needing an ICU bed for Diabetic Ketoacidosis.
Don't go on a cocaine spree with your holiday money.
Don't put 13 packets of sugar on your cereal when your blood sugar is over 300.
Don't start shooting up heroin less than a month after we finished treating you with a 6 month course of Intravenous antibiotics for your previous endocarditis, and come back in with endocarditis AGAIN secondary to shooting up. You will be here for months. Again.
Don't smoke while you are chronically ill with emphysema and attached to oxygen.
Don't drive drunk, wrap your car around a tree, and take up a bed in the ICU.
Don't refuse to take your congestive cardiac failure meds because they "make you pee too much" and end up acutely ill and needing ICU support.
Don't skip dialysis repeatedly for a video game tournament.
Don't go on an alcohol bender after a liver transplant.
Don't weigh 400 lbs, become bedbound and unable to care for yourself and get admitted due to intractable pain from your joints and spine not being able to support your weight.
Not a good idea to let your cat lick your peritoneal dialysis catheter and end up with peritonitis. It's not cute.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Pretty much sums up most medsurg and ICU admits. Without all that, we would not have bed shortages.
I am kind of dreading another stimulus check, because too many people went on drug sprees with the money and ended up admitted. Feeds the overwhelmed hospitals narrative.
I am heading into work after a fair bit of time off, if we are overwhelmed with Flu.....er I mean "Covid" I will let you know.
In 1839 20-year-old George Sumner sailed from the US to Russia, as supercargo on freighter.He carried with him an acorn,taken from the grave of Washington.He talked his way into the presence of Czar Nicholas I and presented the Acorn as a gift from America. The Czar was charmed. The story....