SEATTLE — Multiple Washington state hospital administrators say their facilities are overcapacity and understaffed.
“We have not been under this level of stress at any point during the pandemic, this is unprecedented at this point,” said Sommer Kleweno Walley of Harborview Medical Center.
Though COVID-19 is a concern today, the Washington State Hospital Association said it not the only factor at play. The biggest factor is many patients are taking up beds they no longer need as they wait for transfer to long-term care facilities.
Providence-Swedish said as many as 20% of their patients no longer require hospitalization. Harborview is reporting it’s 130% overcapacity.
“Unfortunately, we have returned to the same level and in some cases worse level of both challenge and strain in our hospitals that we experienced during those periods of those specific surges related to those variants,” said Dr. Steve Mitchell of the Washington Medical Coordination Center.
The issue comes at a time when the state is dealing with what’s considers to be the most contagious version of the virus yet. The BA.5 and BA.4 variants, which combined account for the majority of new cases, are believed to evade both antibodies and vaccine protections.
“We are actively considering if, and when, additional mandates may be needed,” said Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County.
Last week, King County officials said they’re considering mask mandates – an issue that earlier this month the governor downplayed.
“We are not there, and we are not actually approaching that position. So we think this is the moment for people to make individual decisions as they can and get a booster shot.,” said Gov. Jay Inslee on July 8.