'We're about to catch on fire': Inside a Texas hospital battling omicron & staffing shortages

Texas will soon surpass its previous COVID-19 hospitalization record. Doctors and nurses say they can’t keep up this pace for much longer and implore people to get vaccinated.

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Montgomery County ,Texas ,United States ,Houston ,San Antonio ,Harris County ,Michigan ,Texans ,Kristen Mclaury ,Earl Sprunger ,Kerri Guerrro ,Traci Cargile ,Meredith Moore ,Eleanor Klibanoff ,Clyde Alexander ,Christian Youtube ,Jason Knight ,Annie Mulligan ,Seanna Davignon ,Whitney Thiry ,Greg Abbott ,Texas Department Of State Health Services ,Texas Tribune ,Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital ,Surge Respiratory ,Houston Astros ,Houston Methodist The Woodlands ,Houston Methodist ,Texas Department ,State Health Services ,Ap News ,Krhd 25 News ,Texas News ,E Re About To Catch On Fire Insidea Texas Hospital Battling Omicron And Staffing Shortages ,E Re About To Catch On Fire Insidea Texas Hospital Battling Omicron And Staffing Shortages By Eleanor Klibanoff ,He Texas Tribune Jan 17 ,022 Quot We Re About To Catch On Fire Insidea Texas Hospital Battling Omicron And Staffing Shortages Was First Published By The Tribune ,Wa Nonprofit ,Onpartisan Media Organization That Informs Texans And Engages With Them About Public Policy ,Politics ,Overnment And Statewide Issues Sign Up For The Brief ,Ur Daily Newsletter That Keeps Readers Up To Speed On The Most Essential Texas News Woodlands ,Exas Earl Sprunger Sits In His Hospital Bed ,Truggling To Speak He Anxiously Strokes His Long ,Craggly Goatee Every Time He Winces In Pain Hed Hoped To Shave It Off Before Coming The Hospital ,Ut There Wasnt Time The 67 Year Old Originally Showed Up Here ,T Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital ,Hen An Existing Stomach Issue Flared Up So Badly He Couldnt Stand Tested Positive For Covid And Was Admitted These Other Problemsi Already Had ,Uti Didnt Know It Was That Bad My Surgeon Believes Covid Brought Them On ,Like That ,She Said ,Napping His Fingers Sprunger Has Been Here ,N The Hospitals Respiratory Unit ,Ora Week Now ,Ith Only His Nurses Anda Christian Youtube Channel For Company Daughter ,A Mail Carrier ,As Been Nervous To Visit Sprunger ,A Retired Veteran ,S Working On Getting His Strength Back ,Aking Slow ,Upervised Walks Around The Room With Help Ofa Walker All 32 Beds In This Unit Are Full Covid Patients Right Now ,Nd The Hospital Has Reopened Overflow Unit Almost All Of Patients ,Mike Sprunger ,Re Unvaccinatedi Don X27t Do Vaccines Too Much Really ,E Said Years Ago ,Hey Gave Me The Vaccine For Flu Or Whatever It Was Bad ,Eal Bad So It Makes Me Leery About That Stuff Now Sprunger Says There Havent Been Enough Studies The Coronavirus Vaccines And Hes Worried Side Effects His Brother ,Ho Got Vaccinated And Boosted ,S Hospitalized In Michigan Right Now ,She Says ,Nd Sprunger Believes The Vaccine Made Him Worse ,Ot Better If Unvaccinated People Do Get Sick From This New ,Ighly Contagious Covid Variant ,Prunger Says They Can Just Do What He Did If You Get It ,O To The Hospital ,E Said They X27 Ll Get You Through It Thats Hard For Nurse And Unit Manager Kristen Mclaury To Hear ,Onsidering Just How Many Of Her Patients Havent Gotten Through It Mclaury Treated One The Hospitals First Covid And Hasnt Stopped Since She Now Runs Respiratory Unit ,Here She And Her Nurses Have Watched Otherwise Healthy Young People Gasping For Breath They Ve Put Countless On Oxygen ,R Taken Them Off Life Support They Ve Had To Comfort Grieving Families ,Nd Facilitate Video Calls So No One Had To Die Alone Shes Risked Her Own Life On The Frontlines For Nearly Two Years ,And Now ,Atching These Hospital Beds Fill Up Again ,He Just Feels Defeated In Montgomery County ,Sa Conservative ,Ealthy Suburban County Northwest Of Houston ,Nly 53 Percent Of Its More Than 600 ,000 Residents Are Vaccinated ,Hich Is Among The Lowest Rates For Texas Counties With Populations Exceeding 500 ,000 Less Than 16 Percent Of Residents Have Receiveda Booster Shoti Work 60 Hoursa Week Andi Don X27t See My Child ,I Don X27t See My Husband ,O Thati Can Come And Care For You While Yell At Me Because X27 Re Upset That Havea Disease Told How To Prevent In The First Place ,Claury Said As The Unit Manager ,Ts Mclaurys Job To Keep Morale Up Among The Other Nurses ,A Herculean Task Right Now Like Every Hospital Across The Country ,Hey Re Facinga Nursing Shortage ,N Increase In Employee Infections Anda Potentially Terminal Case Of Staff Burnout As The Omicron Variant Surges ,Exas Is On Track To Soon Surpass Its Previous Covid Hospitalization Record ,Et In January 2021 Then ,Cat Least ,Here Was The Hope Of Vaccines On Horizon Now ,Urses Like Mclaury Dont See Much Hope At All From Behind Her Houston Astros Mask And Face Shield ,He Begins To Cry Its Real ,Nd Maybe It Might Not Be You In The Hospital ,Ut It Might Be Somebody Else ,He Said That Compassion ,Di Think ,S Just Gone The World Has Become So Selfish In Emergency Room ,A Logjam Ona Friday Afternoon In Mid January ,He Emergency Room At Houston Methodist The Woodlands Is Starting To Fill Up Plastic Sheeting Divides Waiting Area Encourage Social Distancing Hgtv Plays Quietly In Background Asa Nurse Hooksa Patient Onto An Iv Drip Around Corner ,A Hallway Has Been Converted Intoa Makeshift Triage Area For Overflow Patients Its Empty Now ,Out Last Week ,Administrators Say ,Hey Were Using Every Seat Its Been Non Stop At The Er Since Omicron First Emerged In Area They Re Seeing Usual Emergency Room Needs Broken Arms ,Heart Attacks ,Lu Symptoms As Well Lots Of People Presenting With This New ,Ighly Transmissible Covid Strain So Far ,Micron Seems To Be Leading Fewer And Shorter Hospitalizations Than Previous Coronavirus Variants ,Nd Vaccines Seem To Be Providing Significant Protection Against Serious Illness Not As Many Of The Hospitals Intensive Care Unit Beds Are Being Taken Up By Covid Patients At This Point But With So People Testing Positive ,Nd Sucha Low Vaccination Rate In The County ,He Emergency Room Is Seeing An Increase In Covid Cases That Require Hospitalization All Of This Leaves The Witha Serious Logjam Patients Are Waitinga Long Time Lobby Because Beds Currently Occupied By Waiting To Be Admitted Hospital Not Just For ,Ut For Surgeries And Medical Care Unfortunately ,Right Now ,Ll Those Longer Term Beds Are Tied Up ,Ue In Part To An Influx Of Unvaccinated Covid Patients Stay The Lobby For My Entire Shift ,Aid Meredith Moore ,N Emergency Room Nurse 12 Hours Its Frustrating It X27s Hard For Them And They Get Angry Justified But Who Receives That Anger Me Moore Has Beena Nine Years Joined The Department Here Since Soon After Hospital Opened In 2017 Shes Young Energetic ,Ith Expressive Eyes That Communicate Exactly What Shes Thinking Even Behinda Mask Before The Pandemic ,Oore Loved The Fast Paced Environment And Feeling Of Helping People Who Really Needed It She Was Especially Good At Controlling Her Emotions ,A Requisite For This Job In The Er ,Ou Havea Patient Die On You And Have To Go Into Your Next Room ,Nd You Have To Act Like Nothing Is Wrong ,He Said That Has Gotten More Difficult As This Gone On Last Week ,For The First Time ,He Broke Down And Cried In The Emergency Roomi Had Five Ambulances That To Havea Bedi Hada Patient Was Circling Draini Dont Nurse Take Care Of ,He Said That Was The First Time In Two Yearsi Really Felt Helpless ,Ecause If One Thing Falls ,F One Person Starts Coding ,Ts All Over It Goes Up In Flamesi Don X27t Think That People Know Unless You X27 Re On This Side ,He Saidi Tell My Family All The Timei X27m Glad You Don X27t Know But That X27 Sa Heavy Burden To Carry Theres Some Relief Coming For Houston Methodist Woodlandsa Long Planned Hospital Expansion Is Opening This Week ,Ith Many Of Those Beds Expected To Be Filled By Patients Already Awaiting Care More Will Help But Nurses Say They Also Need Staff The 26 ,000 Employees That Work Across The Entire Houston Methodist System , ,500 Employees Tested Positive For Omicron In One Week ,Ccording To The Hospitals Chief Medical Officer ,Ason Knight Th ,