Crisis Standards of Care have been implemented by Idaho hospitals

This last Thursday, Dave Jeppesen, the director for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, activated the Crisis Standards of Care for all Idaho hospitals in order to deal with the influx of COVID-19 cases into Idaho hospitals. This decision followed the recommendation of the Crisis Standards of Care Activation Advisory Committee which had been convened the day before.  
 According to information from the Department of Health and Welfare, “Crisis standards of care are guidelines that help healthcare providers and healthcare systems decide how to deliver the best care possible under the extraordinary circumstances of a disaster or a public health emergency.  Crisis standards of care guidelines would be used when resources are insufficient to provide the usual standard of care to people who need it. The goal… is to save as many lives as possible.
 What this means in a nutshell is that:
 1. The hospitals are overwhelmed.  
 2. There are not enough resources to go around.
 3. If you need to go to any hospital for ANY reason, your situation will be triaged to determine if it is a priority.
 4. If your chances of survival are not high enough, you may not get the care you could normally expect if another patient’s chances of survival are better.
 Going strictly by information posted on coronavirusidaho.gov, Washington County’s new cases for this past week were down. However, our six-county District Health office noted in their last communication, nearly two weeks ago, that there were about 3,500 new cases in our district that had not been posted yet. In other words, they are also overwhelmed.  
 If those new cases were spread evenly across the population in our six-county district that would mean Washington County has had around another 180 cases that have not been posted.  
 One of the City employees asked me recently if there was any information for a recent time period about the number of hospitalizations of those vaccinated against COVID-19 compared to the unvaccinated. Our District Health office graciously took the time to have one of their people provide information for the month of August which I would like to share with you.
 “In the month of August 2021, SWDH had 4,363 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19. Of these cases, 151 (3.5 percent) were fully immunized. Of the 160 individuals in SWDH (our District) who were sick enough with COVID-19 to need hospitalization, eight (5 percent) were fully immunized. Of the 44 individuals in SWDH who died due to COVID-19, only one (2.3 percent) was fully immunized.”
 The email went on to state, “Whether looking at what has happened in our six-county region over the past 8 months or just in August, there is strong evidence to support the benefits of vaccine.”
 Any way you look at it, the numbers support the vaccine as the best weapon in fighting this virus with study after study to support the numbers.
 I have heard some people say they will take their chances and rely on alternative therapies if they contract the virus. My response, to quote an old saying “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  Also, with the surge in cases going on now, the “alternative therapy” may not be available when you are in need. The vaccine is available now.  
 The county has seen a recent surge in the number of people getting vaccinated. Please make sure you are one of them.

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