Hospitals Continue To Think Outside The Box With COVID-19 Surge

Many metro hospitals are innovating to try and stay afloat caring for patients, both with and without COVID-19.

Most of those hospitals are operating at full capacity or over.

That has led them to make tough decisions and do things they wouldn’t ordinarily do to make sure they are able to treat as many people as they can.

“It isn’t ideal. It isn’t the way we would like to operate, but it is what we are trying to do to keep the sickest of the sick having access to care within our borders,” said Dr. Rachel Franklin, the medical director at OU Health Physicians Family Medicine.

Doctors said the situation inside isn’t getting any better. They are continuing to take on more and more patients.

They are doing their best to keep space open for those who need it the most. That has meant sending some people home, for at home care, who would have normally been admitted to the hospital.

“Early on in the course we would admit anyone who needed oxygen. Now we have worked with other organizations statewide to create hospitals at home where we can send someone home on oxygen to be monitored more closely,” said Franklin.

Health care workers have pleaded that the public be smart with their decisions, so they don’t land in the ICU where space is limited. They also said make sure you are taking your prescribed medications as prescribed.

They continue to stress the top things that people can do are wash your hands, watch your distance, wear a mask and get a COVID-19 vaccine when you can.