Credit Katie Basile / KYUK
Leaders of Alaska’s largest hospitals say that a steep rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations is straining a health care system that’s already struggling with staffing shortages and a burned out workforce.
In a July 27 news conference organized by the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association, the group’s CEO, Jared Kosin, said that many Alaska hospitals, especially in Anchorage, are at or near capacity.
He said that COVID-19 hospitalizations have reached December 2020 levels, and that the increase comes as hospitals are already dealing with the usual summer uptick in patients, plus hiring challenges.
“At this rate, we re tracking towards a significant care event. And on the downside here, the health care system is a far more fragile state than it was before. We have less room, we have less staff, and we have a burned out workforce. On the upside, we have an effective tool in play and that s the vaccine,” Kosin said.
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