Valley EMS workers receive COVID-19 vaccinations
KFSN
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) It s the strongest defense for first responders.
On Tuesday, it was the turn of workers at American Ambulance to receive COVID-19 vaccinations at the Fresno County Fairgrounds.
American Ambulance answers more than 400 calls a day in Fresno and Kings Counties and the vaccination can minimize the risk they take every day. Every day we are transporting patients that have COVID and every day our staff puts themselves at risk, so recognizing the importance of that first responder and that frontline healthcare professional was really important to us, said American Ambulance Director of Field Operations Edgar Escobedo.
Air Force crews on the way to Central Valley to help fight COVID-19 surge
ICU beds are already stretched thin, and ER care has slowed down because of the surge in cases.
KFSN
ICU beds are already stretched thin, and ER care has slowed down because of the surge. Routine emergency care work is being slowed down. The impact of this virus is being felt on the entire hospital system, Governor Gavin Newsom said Monday.
In the San Joaquin region, the ICU capacity remains at 0%.
Hospital hallways have been converted to patient care areas.
Paramedics are seeing back-to-back calls, and often need to keep patients in their vans outside the hospital until a bed becomes available.
Listen to the interview here
With the latest COVID-19 surge, we know that hospitals are in crisis: Patients are being cared for in hallways and conference rooms, nurses and doctors are being forced to take care of larger patient loads than usual, and field hospitals are being opened to take care of those who aren’t in need of critical care.
But what does this all mean for ambulances that are delivering patients to overflowing emergency departments and transferring patients between intensive care units full to capacity? Edgar Escobedo, director of Field Operations with paramedic contractor American Ambulance, says in response to the first stay-at-home order in March, there were so few 9-1-1 calls that the company instituted a hiring freeze. But everything changed when cases first surged over the summer.