Durham, NC Hospital beds across North Carolina are filling up with coronavirus patients. Healthcare institutions are concerned that they will need to ration care in the coming weeks as the number of hospital admissions increases.
“There just aren’t enough nurses to take care of all the patients,” said Dr. Rodney McCaskill, Johnston Health’s Chief Medical Officer.
Durham VA Hospital on Fulton Street, directly opposite Duke University Hospital, is expanding its COVID unit to ease the burden of other facilities in the area.
“Remember, we’re taking care of people without COVID, and on top of that we’re dealing with COVID-19. So it’s really stretching, especially in some of these smaller hospitals,” said UNC Health physician David Wohl.
In response, VA added 15 extra beds to its COVID division.
“Even before the Christmas holidays, Durham VA decided to expand its bedding capacity and open a whole new unit,” said Deputy Chief of the Office of Public Health Genevieve Embree. “The beds in that unit are getting bigger and bigger.”
Healthcare has been able to reach hospitals like Duke to transfer more veterans in need. On Tuesday, more than 3,300 North Carolina people were hospitalized with the corona virus.
Recently released data from the White House indicates that 87 of North Carolina counties, including Durham, Orange and Wake counties, are “sustainable hotspots” for COVID-19.
The VA is also offering vaccinations outside of its system to Duke residents and medical students amid the recent spike in post-holiday coronavirus cases.