During a COVID-19 oversight hearing, Walsh testified to state lawmakers that hospitals are “still under tremendous pressure.” Walsh called the recent rise in hospitalizations “terrifying,” saying the post- Thanksgiving tallies are steeper than expected.
If those increases persist into the new year, Walsh warned “we’re going to have increasing problems.”
“Some of these pressures are as bad as they have ever been — even at the height of the first surge,” Walsh told the Joint Committee on COVID-19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management. “Hospital capacity is stretched more than it has ever been ... Capacity is a challenge every single day.”
Gov. Charlie Baker has ordered hospitals to limit elective procedures, such as knee and hip replacements, to preserve bed capacity.
Walsh, who described Baker’s order as standard protocol for health care providers, said Massachusetts hospitals have collectively lost 500 inpatient beds throughout the pandemic due to staffing challenges. Caregivers are “simply exhausted,” Walsh said. Many health care workers have left the field, and there’s also a “swell” of retirees, Walsh said.
Massachusetts must address the staffing crunch in the short-term, Walsh said, while also cultivating a “new generation of health care professionals” to better handle future health crises.
To compound matters, Walsh said there’s a staffing shortage among EMS workers.
“Many patients are waiting longer than they can, and it’s becoming harder and harder to get them to the right setting,” Walsh said. “It’s harder to to move them, and that slows the whole flow and people back up the ED.”
Beyond coronavirus-related illnesses, Walsh said mental health crises — which he described as an epidemic within a pandemic — is flooding overburdened hospitals.
More than 600 patients seeking urgent behavioral healthcare were waiting in emergency departments or other hospitals units on Dec. 6 , Walsh said based on the most recent available data. About 30% of those patients involved children, Walsh said.
The focus must be on pediatric boarding, Walsh said. More behavioral health workers will be deployed soon, Walsh said, with a contract expected to be signed this week with a staffing agency.
“Behavioral health boarding is backing up everything else and providing less than adequate care for the folks that are in those situations,” Walsh said. Patients are still safe and receiving care, but it is not an optimal solution, he said.
Pressed by state lawmakers about reinstating a universal mask mandate, Walsh said he personally believes such a requirement could be helpful in slowing the spread of COVID-19. But Walsh acknowledged that he’s not in the same position as Baker, who must also weigh the economic repercussions of imposting stricter coronavirus safeguards.
Baker earlier this week told reporters there are no plans to establish a statewide mask mandate. His stance swiftly drew outcry from Massachusetts doctors and health experts.
Walsh said Massachusetts residents should wear a mask indoors, regardless of state regulations. He urged the public to get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19. People should also not skip routine medical appointments, Walsh said, which has also strained hospitals as they grapple with patients who delayed care.
“The best gift for the holiday season would be if weren’t struggling to find beds on Jan. 15 because of avoidable exposures over the next two weeks,” Walsh testified.
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