Brandon Bikowski is board-certified in internal medicine. He works as a hospitalist in Phoenix, Arizona. Below, in his own words, Bikowski reflects on his experiences at his job and shares his opinions on the surging COVID-19 crisis.
I find myself wondering if the general public has become so desensitized to death, that it has simply become a number. Part of me understands the people who don't believe that this is real because they haven't seen it. Those of us working in hospitals, on the other hand, are watching it spin out of control in real time.
The chief medical officers of all the major health organizations in Arizona recently developed a triage plan for the state. Business competitors have been forced to come together and collaborate to share plans, resources, ideas, because of the severity of the situation and the leadership vacuum regarding this pandemic. And the plan? Essentially, when resources become scarce, patients will be reduced to a number generated by a set of criteria.
When I last checked, ICU beds in Arizona were at 91% utilization despite avoiding placing patients on a ventilator until it is an absolute last option. If you ask state leadership, you will be told that we have an adequate number of ventilators. That's not a lie. What we don't have are beds in which to put patients attached to those ventilators, or trained staff to take care of them.
Yes wear the mask that was designed to prevent staff infections in surgical patients...... and is absolutely worthless against viruses.
screen saver or psa, either's fine with me...
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