Recently, the Midwest has once again become the "epicenter" of the new crown epidemic, at the New Roseland Community Hospital in the southernmost part of Chicago, waiting for a long line of vehicles for nucleic acid testing, while in the ward, medical staff are battling the rebound of the epidemic.
The reporter met Dr. Gray in the makeshift COVID-19 ward, who is the head nurse of the COVID-19 ward. Dr Gray said all the patients in the ward tested positive for COVID-19, but if the patient needed a ventilator, he had to be transferred to the intensive care unit. Dr Gray said: "The COVID-19 ward is about to fill up and we only have two empty seats left. ”
Brian, who was hospitalized these days, said: "At first I was a little worried, but the medical staff took good care of me and many people wished me a speedy recovery. But COVID-19 is still scary, everyone should be careful, this is not a joke. ”
Patient Anthony felt the same way. Anthony said: "I have witnessed everything here, a lot of people have not survived, and medical resources are very scarce. Everyone should take it seriously and be sure to wear a mask. ”
The reporter met with President Tim Egan in the dean's office, and he said that the hospital is in a disaster, and a large part of the medical staff has recovered from the new crown virus and immediately returned to the front line of rescue, but a large number of medical staff have not yet been able to return to their posts.
The covid-19 pandemic has hit medical staff and made hospitals even more deficient in medical resources. Medical director Radipo told reporters: "I am afraid that our hospital will exceed the limit because the number of patients and the condition are getting worse and worse. I can't sleep at night, what should we do if the intensive care unit and the emergency room are full? ”
Dr. Victoria, who was specifically transferred to new Rosland Hospital to treat COVID-19 patients, confessed that she was worried that the hospital would not have the autopsy capacity to cope with the increasing number of COVID-19 deaths in the coming months. Dr. Victoria said: "This is an existential threat to our nation's civilization. ”
New Rossland Community Hospital is known as a "safety net hospital, and this type of hospital specializes in providing medical care to low-income and uninsured people. For a long time, the New Rosland Hospital has faced a shortage of funds.
Dean Tim Egan told reporters that most "safety net hospitals" are in a state of loss, so they are no longer just thinking about costs, but also how to deal with the debt structure. "We owe more debt now than before because we built more facilities and we added more staff. So the debt we manage changes every minute. ”
Reporters visited the hospital in April this year, when it was experiencing the impact of the first wave of the new crown epidemic. Although the New Rosland Hospital created a system for indoor viral nucleic acid testing, it failed to secure $12 billion in federal funding for hospital systems because it did not meet one of the conditions: As of April 10, it would have to accept 100 COVID-19 patients a day.
New Rossland Community Hospital is located in one of Chicago's most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Unemployment and crime rates have remained high due to a lack of public investment, and in some areas there has even been a lack of food.
"In the United States, a person's health may be determined by his zip code, not by his genetics. Time and time again, poor communities have been shown to lack investment, and they are often at the forefront of social crises. Dean Tim Egan told reporters.
In April, the McCormick Place in Chicago, the nation's largest convention and exhibition venue, was temporarily transformed into a temporary hospital to fight COVID-19. However, the data shows that only 38 COVID-19 patients are treated there. If costing is done, each patient spends seven million dollars.
However, the new Rothland Community Hospital has an annual budget of about $50 million, and although the hospital received other financial support during the epidemic, the director said it was still stretched.
"Frankly, 'safety net hospitals' are completely unable to fight COVID-19, and I firmly believe that we also need federal and state funding to win this battle." Dean Tim Egan said.