“Oh F**k……”
- Donald Trump caught on a hot mic moments before he addressed the nation
Ok, last night we were treated to the following 9 minutes of reassurance by our fearless leader.
Inspiring right?
Which was followed immediately by this - A 2,000 point drop in the Stock Market. Trading had to be stopped for the second time this week. Prior to this, trading had not been stopped by the internal alarms since 1997
"I'm leading everybody, we're doing great."
-Donald Trump
So clearly this is not true. But there is more...
“…..especially as the weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone…..”
- Donald Trump
Tom Hanks and his wife Rita have acquired the virus in Australia , where it is Summer and quite hot by the way.
I never thought I would get to a part 3 of this blog post, but the way things are going, I feel this may be on an ongoing series.
When we returned from our trip overseas, there was no screening at the airport. No questions about where we might have been. We sailed through customs and went right home. That was 5 days ago.
I thought I would share some observations from the front lines at my hospital. I work as a OB/Gyn Emergency Room Physician part time at a large and respected hospital here in Indiana. What I am describing is not unique to my facility and is common to all hospitals in the area.
I should note, as of today, we have not had a single case of Covid-19 virus at my facility. At least not yet.
We are now limiting visitors. There is a screening station at the front of the hospital for guests and patients. That is it currently. We still have no tests at our hospital and it is unclear when they may arrive.
I was called earlier this morning to attend to the delivery of a baby. Usually when I come in the room, the staff has prepared a surgical table with all the tools and drapes that one needs to perform a vaginal delivery.
On a medical note - Vaginal deliveries are not sterile procedures, like you would have with an operation. Instead, hospitals work to make sure they are clean, but absolute sterility is not required
So I looked at my usually well equipped table to find it spare and missing the usual drapes and gowns. I asked about it and was informed the hospital is limiting the supply of these items with the current crisis. Like many things in this country, the gowns are made in China and the supply to the USA is very limited now. So we used older type gowns that are not as efficient. This was the first time since I have returned that I came face to face with the reality of the current medical crisis.
You see, as good as our hospitals are, they have only so many supplies and rooms. If the cases of Covid-19 start to increase substantially we will have only so many tools at our disposal. Despite our fearless leader’s admonishment to “Buy American” you can’t suddenly produce items that are not currently being made here. It is magical thinking.
The delivery went well. A beautiful girl was born. There were no complications and, despite the shortages, the staff performed superbly. We have wonderful medical professionals in this country. They are dedicated and you should know, should you become ill, they will work tirelessly for you.
Despite the failings of the Federal Government, local leaders are stepping into the gap to provide solutions in the storm we are now facing. Clearly we need more done than the 9 minute speech outlined above.
Nicholas Kristof, of the New York Times, put forth the following 12 point plan today. It's not perfect, but it is a very good start.
"After speaking to epidemiologists and public health specialists, I have a list of a dozen practical steps that the president and other officials should take immediately, while there is time.
1. Invest in a huge rollout of free testing so that we know who is sick. The University of Washington set up a drive-through system so that certain people can be tested without contaminating a clinic; South Korea did the same. We urgently need “rapid tests” — offering results in minutes — and before long we will also desperately need tests to determine who has had the virus and now has immunity.
2. Cancel large gatherings in parts of the country where community transmission is occurring, as Gov. Jay Inslee has done in Washington State. Employers should encourage people to work from home where possible. Even with social distancing, more than one-third of Americans may eventually be infected (a worst case is that 70 percent become infected, as Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany has cautioned for her country).
But lives will be saved by flattening the curve so that infections grow more slowly. We are much better off if 100 million Americans contract the coronavirus over 18 months rather than over 18 weeks, and this also gives scientists the chance to test treatments and develop vaccines, and to see if warmer weather helps. South Korea’s experience suggests that aggressive measures, well short of China’s, do help.
3. Expand telemedicine so that patients can get medical advice while staying home. The aim is for people to NOT go to a doctor’s office or E.R. unless necessary.
4. Plan for hospitals to be overwhelmed, as happened in Wuhan, China, and in Iran and northern Italy. Epidemiological models suggest that by late April we could have millions of Americans infected, and the danger is that people with other ailments die for want of care in the chaos. Several epidemiologists suggest that we could easily see 100 million infections of the new coronavirus in the United States, of which 5 or 10 percent might require hospitalization and 1 percent might need a ventilator. That could mean almost one million people needing ventilators just for Covid-19, though not all at the same time, yet we have only about 72,000 full ventilators in the United States.
5. Cancel vacations of health workers, bring back retired doctors and nurses, and repurpose cardiologists and pediatricians to deal with a torrent of coronavirus patients — in expectation of record numbers of doctors out sick. We should prepare to allow military medics to assist in E.R.s as well.
6. Make nursing homes, assisted-living centers, homeless shelters, prisons and dialysis treatment centers safer, by encouraging use of personal protective equipment and limiting visitors.
7. Make plans in case first responders, such as firefighters and ambulance paramedics, become sick in large numbers. That may mean calling in the National Guard.
8. Ensure that as many people as possible have access to medical care. That means expanding Medicaid in remaining states, and establishing a mechanism so that no one needs to pay (including a co-pay or deductible) for testing for or treatment of Covid-19.
9. Congress should promptly pass legislation (shamefully stalled for the last 16 years) mandating paid sick leave for all workers.
10. Greatly step up production of personal protective equipment needed in hospitals. Some hospitals are already running short of N95 masks, and America’s emergency stockpile has only 12 million N95 masks — approximately a one-day supply for the country during an epidemic.
11. Prepare for public school students to attend classes remotely in parts of the country most affected. Researchers found that during the 1918 Spanish flu, cities that canceled schools and public gatherings — and did so early — fared better than other cities. Unfortunately, today at least six million American schoolchildren don’t have internet access at home; that may mean that schools hand out hotspots, and laptops to students without computers. A nonprofit called FirstBook is trying to send out six million books to low-income schools so that kids can at least read while at home.
12. Instead of bailing out airlines or cruise lines, make people in quarantine eligible for unemployment insurance and waive work requirements for benefit programs. Don’t let struggling families become homeless because they suddenly can’t make the rent or meet mortgage payments.
Enough with your fiddling, Mr. President. Let’s roll."
It seems obvious now that Colleen and I will be cancelling our future travel plans, at least for the moment.
I am not concerned yet. I remain hopeful for two reasons.
The first is this checklist
And the 2nd reason is a quote from my favorite philosopher -
“But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. ......there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo… and it’s worth fighting for.”
-Samwise Gamgee
Because of my unique vantage point at the front line of hospitals here in Indiana, I will continue this series as the situation warrants. For now, the crisis is a road block for us in traveling The Road to Bali.
But, tomorrow is another day.
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