The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced on Tuesday a plan to ration healthcare to patients in a bid to help hospitals keep up with a surge in COVID-19 cases.
With hospitals in the Idaho panhandle and in the north-central part of the state running out of both staff and hospital beds, the Crisis Standards of Care Plan, which was enacted on Monday, aims to provide hospitals with guidelines on how to distribute healthcare among patients in a time of crisis.
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The decision to put the plan into action followed a Crisis Standards of Care Activation Advisory Committee review. It gives 10 Idaho hospitals and healthcare systems latitude to take measures to ensure all of their patients are taken care of, including repurposing rooms to hold more patients as well as changing and extending staff responsibilities. This means some patients will have to go without certain lifesaving medical equipment or have to stay in a classroom or conference room, according to the Associated Press.
“Crisis standards of care is a last resort,” Department of Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen said. “It means we have exhausted our resources to the point that our healthcare systems are unable to provide the treatment and care we expect. This is a decision I was fervently hoping to avoid. The best tools we have to turn this around is for more people to get vaccinated and to wear masks indoors and in outdoor crowded public places.”
In addition to encouraging Idaho residents to continue to wear masks, Jeppesen asked residents to get vaccinated as soon as possible. The crisis plan is expected to remain in effect until sufficient resources are available to provide the usual amount of care to patients.
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COVID-19 cases in Idaho have increased since the beginning of July.
The average positive test rate for residents peaked on Aug. 28 at over 21%, according to data gathered by the Mayo Clinic. The average positive test rate for Idaho was at nearly 19% at the start of the week.
Data shows 44.7% of Idaho residents have received at least a first vaccine dose and that 39.5% are fully vaccinated.
