The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) recently announced plans to help ease overcrowding in hospitals.
The DSHS has contracted with 10 nursing homes across the state to open dedicated units for hospital patients who are not being treated for COVID-19 and no longer need acute care. The department will also provide staffing resources.
The move will free up 240 hospital beds.
The Washington State Hospital Association said in mid-December that some hospitals were at 120% capacity due to staffing shortages at nursing homes, rather than because of the coronavirus pandemic.
After the deadline for Gov. Jay Inslee’s vaccine mandate for all state employees and health care workers to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18 passed, the WSHA said about 2% of the state’s health care workforce — about 3,000 people — either quit or were terminated for failing to comply with the mandate.
“While I’m encouraged by our rapidly declining COVID-19 case rates, our hospitalization rate remains higher than at any other point during the pandemic,” Inslee said “Our hospital staff continue to do incredible work, but many are understandably burned out. This program is a crucial step to ease some of the burden that’s been placed on them during this surge.”
Inslee last month issued an executive order pausing non-urgent surgeries and other medical procedures for one month. The order defined non-urgent health care services as those that, if delayed, are not expected to cause harm to the patient within 90 days.
The order is set to expire Thursday. This is the third time Inslee has issue such a pause since March of 2020.
The state has contracted with a temporary nurse staffing agency to provide 250 registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and certified nursing assistants to staff the units.
The first is expected to open in Seattle this week. Others will be located in Federal Way, Bellingham, Des Moines, Lakewood, Olympia, Vancouver, Spokane and Pasco.
Inslee also took other steps in January to help alleviate the hospital staffing shortages. The steps included deploying 100 non-clinical National Guard members to four locations to assist emergency rooms with non-medical tasks and other National Guard members to five hospitals to assist with testing.
He also ordered 5.5 million at-home test kits.
The units will operate until June 30.
According to the Washington State Department of Health, 25% of occupied hospital beds in the state are COVID-19 patients. There are currently 1,642 such hospitalizations, down from more than 1,900 two weeks ago. Of those patients, 110 require a ventilator, down from 183 two weeks ago.
