The fourth COVID-19 wave is proving more challenging for the health care system than previous surges.
That's according to Jennifer Hopwood, vice president of patient care and chief nursing officer at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center.
"Over the last four weeks, we've experienced delays with admitting patients to our inpatient beds, causing further delays in the emergency department and procedural areas, and also accepting patients from regional hospitals that don't have services to provide care to patients in those areas," she said. "At any given time, there are multiple patients waiting for a bed."
OSF Saint Francis is at 90 percent capacity, with only 1 percent of adult ICU beds and 2 percent of med surge beds currently available.
Hopwood said the system is further strained by a workforce shortage. That stems both from the current labor shortage trends seen nationally across most industries, as well as more health care workers quitting or retiring early as the pandemic stretches into its 18th month.
As of Thursday, OSF Saint Francis has 43 COVID-19 patients in the hospital, including 11 in the ICU. Of those 43, seven are vaccinated and all are over age 65. Two of the unvaccinated have received two shots, but aren't considered vaccinated because they're eligible for a third booster shot under new guidance for immunocompromised patients.
"None of the 11 patients in the ICU were vaccinated, and nine of those patients are currently on a ventilator," said Hopwood.
Hopwood said COVID is using about 15 to 20 percent of ICU bed availability on any given day, and eight to 10 percent of general medical space.
"We have never seen one diagnosis account for so many admissions in those areas for such a significant amount of time," she said. "This is what makes the COVID virus challenging for hospitals and health systems to manage. Because there are other patients still sick and still requiring care, and there are not enough beds available."
Peoria City/County Health Department Administrator Monica Hendrickson said Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford counties will all be at a COVID warning level again as of Friday.
Of those getting sick, Hendrickson said the vast majority are unvaccinated. And that's not because they're too young to get a shot in most cases.
"If you think about all of our cases as a whole, you're looking at 87 percent of our cases most likely have the ability to get vaccinated," Hendrickson said.
Hendrickson called it "frustrating," "challenging," and "very sad" to witness cases surging when the best solutions available are easily accessible: masks and vaccines.
"It is proven over and over again to work. And so I think we can't discount it as some kind of tertiary or some kind of, 'Oh, that would be nice to do,'" she said. "At this point, it's almost a must."
In the past week, the Tri-County has recorded 804 new coronavirus cases; 788 COVID-19 deaths are on record in the region since the pandemic began.
