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Hospitals of all sizes struggle as COVID patients overwhelm capacity

Sep 22, 2021
As smaller hospitals try to find beds, large medical facilities in some areas are straining to find the staff to handle patients in need of high-level care.
A COVID-19 patient uses a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine to help her breathe in a COVID holding pod at Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley, California.
ARIANA DREHSLER/AFP via Getty Images

Hospitals are short-staffed and running out of beds. Again.

Aug 17, 2021
With COVID-19 cases rising, at least a few hospitals in almost every state are dealing with critical staffing shortages, including nurses and custodians.
Nurses care for COVID-19 patients in a makeshift ICU at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California, in January. Some seven months later, hospitals are once again running out of ICU beds.
Mario Tama via Getty Images

Should hospitals prioritize their own patients for COVID-19 vaccinations?

Feb 9, 2021
The practice by some hospitals is raising concerns about equity.
As the nationwide vaccination program expanded to include older Americans, some states have ordered hospitals to stop putting their patients ahead of the broader community.
Blake Farmer/WPLN News

An ICU nurse describes the exhaustion of working on COVID's front lines

Jan 29, 2021
In a recent survey of health care workers, 93% said they were experiencing elevated levels of stress.
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How to speed up vaccine rollout

Jan 8, 2021
About 6 million people have gotten a first dose, short of the government’s goal to vaccinate 20 million by the end of 2020.
"I'm hopeful that additional funding to public health will allow public health officials to start setting up publicly accessible, large-scale vaccination clinics," says Dr. Kelly Moore, deputy director of the Immunization Action Coalition.
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Why California hospitals are out of ICU beds

Dec 31, 2020
California has a lower than average number of hospital beds by design, but COVID-19 is challenging the system.
A patient lies on a stretcher in the hallway of the overloaded emergency room at a hospital in Southern California on Dec. 23.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

In the U.S., around 1 in 5 hospitals have a critical shortage of staff

Nov 23, 2020
The pandemic continues to surge, and more medical professionals themselves are catching the virus.
Medical staff members treat a patient suffering from coronavirus in the intensive care unit at the United Memorial Medical Center on Nov. 10 in Houston, Texas.
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Cyberattack hits major hospital chain Universal Health Services

Sep 29, 2020
There were anecdotal reports of disrupted operations at various hospitals.
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Hospitals scramble to switch to government's new COVID reporting system

Jul 21, 2020
While the idea has advantages, the transition away from CDC system may create new problems for hospitals, which had little notice and are struggling with limited resources.
The new COVID-19 tracking site went live this week, but the transition could prove difficult for hospitals.
Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images

It’s safe to see your doctor, ailing health-care industry tells prospective patients

May 15, 2020
Fear of contracting coronavirus is keeping people away from routine health care visits — and even emergency rooms.
The emergency entrance at a hospital in New York. Hospitals nationwide are suffering financially as people fear infection and stay away.
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