As hospitals across the state move to crisis standards of care due to surging COVID-19 cases, local hospital officials say that Bartlett Regional Hospital is not at a crisis point.<\/p>\n
“Don’t delay your care,” said Kim McDowell, Bartlett’s chief nursing officer, in a news release. “Rest assured we stand ready to care for you and serve the healthcare needs of our community.”<\/p>\n
On Saturday, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services activated crisis standards of care<\/a> for 20 health care facilities, including Bartlett Regional Hospital. The move came at the request of the state’s 15-member volunteer Crisis Care Committee, DHSS said.<\/p>\n The committee made the decision because of a shortage of resources within some hospitals.<\/p>\n According to DHSS, crisis standards of care provide guidelines for providing health care and allocating scarce resources under “the extraordinary circumstances of a disaster or public health emergency.”<\/p>\n “Bartlett is nowhere near re-allocating care for our patients. If we reach a level where we prioritize care, the designation allows BRH to operate within the crisis standards of care framework,” hospital officials said in a news release issued late Sunday evening.<\/p>\n [State activate crisis standards of care for 20 health care facilities, including Bartlett Regional Hospital<\/a>]<\/ins><\/p>\n Transfer challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n Shrinking regional capacity and the accompanying challenges transferring patients from rural communities to critical access hospitals was a factor in the committee’s decision.<\/p>\n “We know that our colleagues in Anchorage and Seattle are working extremely hard,” said McDowell in the release. “Transferring patients can add to already full hospitals. It is possible that a point may be reached where there is no room in traditional destinations for medevacs from Bartlett.”<\/p>\n Elective procedures<\/strong><\/p>\n In recent weeks, several hospitals in Alaska have postponed elective surgeries as the state leads the nation in new COVID-19 infections.<\/p>\n At various times during the pandemic, Bartlett officials have paused elective procedures. Most recently, BRH resumed inpatient elective procedures on Sept. 20, and they continue despite the crisis designation.<\/p>\n “Outpatient elective surgeries continue uninterrupted and surgeries that may require a post-operative stay in the hospital are assessed daily,” said Vlad Toca, chief operating officer.<\/p>\n Local situation<\/strong><\/p>\n Hospital officials say residents don’t need to postpone care, even as COVD-19 cases rise locally.<\/p>\n “We want to thank our community members for adhering to virus mitigation measures that work: limiting social contacts, wearing a mask when you are around people outside your bubble, and getting vaccinated. If our community continues its strong support of these efforts, I am hopeful we won’t have to be in the position to implement prioritization of care,” said Interim CEO Kathy Callahan.<\/p>\n Based on City and Borough of Juneau <\/a>data<\/a>, currently, 83.5% of Juneau’s eligible population has had the first dose of vaccine. Because children under 12 aren’t yet eligible to be vaccinated, that translates to 71.9% of Juneau’s population with at least one vaccine dose and 70.2% fully vaccinated.<\/p>\n Over the weekend, the city hosted vaccine clinics to distribute 1,300 booster shots to people who received the Pfizer vaccine at least six months ago.<\/p>\n Cases persist<\/strong><\/p>\n Despite the high vaccination rate, Juneau’s case count continues to be high, compared to the levels seen since the pandemic was initially declared in March 2020.<\/p>\n Hospital officials said that as of Sunday, five people were in the hospital with the virus. In addition, recovered patients with lingering effects of COVID-19 continue to require care.<\/p>\n “While they’re no longer contagious, they’re still requiring a large amount of resources and specialty care,” McDowell said.<\/p>\n Monday afternoon, DHSS reported 49 new cases in Juneau that were identified between Oct. 2 and 4 — a count that’s become fairly typical over the last few weeks. According to the report, six people are now hospitalized with COVID-19 at BRH.<\/p>\n The current community risk level is “Level 3-High,” a level that calls for vaccinated and unvaccinated people to wear masks inside public places. In addition, capacity limits apply to many businesses, and bars and restaurants must close at 11:00 p.m.<\/p>\n Last week, the City Assembly unanimously voted to extend the current COVID-19 mitigation plans<\/a> until March 1, 2022, rather than letting them expire on Oct. 31.<\/p>\n