The rate at which the numbers are increasing is unreal.

I don’t mean to scare you...but every day, the numbers are rising dramatically. ICU beds are filling up. Today I needed to transfer my non-COVID patient to the ICU today (she had a lower GI bleed). The doctors spent over 45 minutes trying to find an ICU bed for her- all the ICU beds were full of COVID patients. Our plan, eventually, was to wait for a patient to transfer out of the step-down unit, then, an ICU patient would transfer to the step-down, and then, we would transfer our patient to the ICU. Factor in cleaning the rooms in between transfers, and you’re looking at my elderly GI patient transferring around midnight or so- about seven hours later than planned. 

My point isn’t about the steps taken to transfer patients, or even the amount of time it takes (although it’s loooong)... it’s that these ICU beds are filling up. Really, really fast. I have heard that most NYC Emergency Rooms are intubating patients at least once an hour, maybe quicker. At the time that I’m writing this, it’s sure its even more than that. 

This virus keeps surprising me. Things are happening faster than I have predicted, and most people I know tend to be a bit more generous with the time. Just last night, I told someone our ICU beds would probably be at max capacity in about a week, but it looks like its even sooner than that- more like in the next day or two. I am beginning to become very concerned about the number of ventilators and hospital beds- NYC hospitals have been ordered to expand bed capacity by 50%. The Javits Center is opening up a field hospital of 1000 beds in the next week or so, and the infamous US Comfort will be arriving to shores with 1000 beds as well.. but not for 3-4 weeks. Sorry to say, but we just don’t have that kind of time. 

 To be honest, I just wanna move to the Emergency Room now. I know it’ll be crazy, I’ll be thrown into the fire, my orientation will be cut early. But, I feel like it’s where I am meant to be. In the trenches with the people. I kinda hate working upstairs and just watching and hearing about all that is going on. I wanna be down there. Make an actual difference. Fight this shit. And maybe I die in the meantime- I don’t want to, especially because we’re not even getting the proper weapons to fight- but, if I do....if I do, at least I can say that I was doing what I loved in life, and that includes disaster relief. 

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