Tag Archives: hospitals

Orange is the new threat level

Posted on February 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

New again, anyway. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo lowered Harris County’s COVID-19 threat level to “significant” Thursday, signaling the city is emerging from the worst of the omicron wave as infection rates plummet. Harris County has met all four metrics needed to lower its threat … Continue reading →

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The wastewater is once again in our favor

Posted on February 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

But there’s still a lot of room for improvement. The latest samples of Houston’s flushed wastewater show diminishing traces of COVID-19 across the region — a promising sign that the highly contagious omicron variant is in retreat. Hospital admissions are … Continue reading →

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Omicron on the decline in Houston

Posted on February 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news. Omicron is receding in the Houston area, new data show, even as hospitals continue to feel the strain of January’s post-holiday bump in COVID-19 cases. The region’s rate of transmission — a key metric used to gauge … Continue reading →

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“Maternity deserts”

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. A few weeks ago, a woman gave birth at Hereford Regional Medical Center, a critical access hospital in the Texas Panhandle. Or, rather, the woman gave birth in the parking lot at … Continue reading →

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You don’t want to go to the ICU right now

Posted on January 31, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

And even if for some reason you did want to go to the intensive care unit, there probably wouldn’t be room for you. The number of Texas intensive care unit beds available for adult patients is at an all-time low … Continue reading →

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The Rodeo will (probably) happen

Posted on January 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Assuming it all doesn’t go south from here. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Tuesday the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo should proceed as planned, citing a decline in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. “It’s difficult to predict what things are … Continue reading →

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I repeat: We need to get more kids vaccinated

Posted on January 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Come on, Houston. In spite of the spread of the omicron variant, national COVID-19 vaccination rates for children ages 5-11 remain low. The same is true for children in Harris County, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis of CDC data. Of Harris … Continue reading →

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Spare a thought for the nurses

Posted on January 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

And do everything you can to avoid getting COVID. [Kristen McLaury, a nurse and unit manager at Methodist Hospital The Woodlands] treated one of the hospital’s first COVID patients and hasn’t stopped since. She now runs the respiratory unit, where … Continue reading →

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Have we reached peak omicron?

Posted on January 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I sure hope so (fingers crossed). Omicron’s swift and sudden surge may have peaked, experts said Monday, but hospitals are likely to remain full in the coming weeks, with the highly contagious COVID-19 strain not expected to recede until March. … Continue reading →

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Have I mentioned that we need to get more kids vaccinated?

Posted on January 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Seriously, y’all. Since November, 693,345 Texas elementary-age children have received at least one dose of the vaccine, accounting for about 24% of the state’s 2.9 million children ages 5-11 — and a figure in line with the national rate. Nearly … Continue reading →

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Back to Code Red

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Hopefully not for too long. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Monday moved the county again to its highest COVID-19 threat level, her office said. The announcement should be old hat for Hidalgo, who has moved to Level Red each … Continue reading →

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The hospitals are getting slammed again

Posted on January 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Take precautions, y’all. Pandemic forecasters in Texas say the state’s current surge of omicron infections and hospitalizations is likely to get much worse before it gets better, with hospitalizations expected to continue climbing for at least three weeks if social behaviors don’t change … Continue reading →

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Got to keep an eye on the hospitalizations

Posted on December 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They’re up, but for now we’re still in reasonably decent shape. More than 1,200 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 in the Houston area on Monday, according to data released by the state Tuesday afternoon. The Department of State Health Services … Continue reading →

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Back to threat level orange

Posted on December 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, omicron. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo raised Harris County’s COVID-19 threat level to “significant” Monday, as the number of infections rise sharply, sparked by the spread of the omicron variant. “Level 2: Orange,” is the second-highest threat level in … Continue reading →

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Omicron may be coming, but delta is still here

Posted on December 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s still a big problem, in case we haven’t forgotten. Omicron’s arrival in the U.S. came as no surprise to federal health officials and will be met with similar anticipation in Texas, where experts believe it could show up in … Continue reading →

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Harris County at “moderate” threat level again

Posted on November 29, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

For now. As with all things, for now. The COVID-19 threat level in Harris County was reduced Friday to moderate from significant as the local number of hospitalized patients and new cases met thresholds that guide the meter while a … Continue reading →

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COVID hospitalizations are (generally) down in (most of) Texas

Posted on November 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

For now. I think you always have to add “for now” to this sort of thing. As Texans head into the holiday season, there is much to celebrate when it comes to addressing the pandemic. But health experts say the … Continue reading →

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More proof that vaccine mandates work

Posted on October 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In the end, most people just get the damn shots. The rest is sound and fury. Protests, lawsuits and national media coverage surrounded Houston Methodist Hospital in June when it became the country’s first major health system to require a … Continue reading →

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Don’t forget your flu shot

Posted on October 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The flu is going to be back this year. Don’t fall for it. After a historically light flu season in 2020, experts warn an influenza resurgence is looming this fall and winter. “I would expect a more intense influenza season, … Continue reading →

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COVID rate slows a bit, but ICUs still full

Posted on September 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The good news. So far, the delta variant has fueled a month of Houston-area COVID hospitalizations over 3,000, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. But Texas Medical Center records show positive case rates may be slowly declining. … Continue reading →

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Hospital systems have no excuse for not mandating COVID vaccines now

Posted on September 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

So get on with it already. Local hospitals reacted Friday to President Joseph Biden’s sweeping vaccine mandates directed at the health care workers, who make up much of the Houston workforce. In a move that overrides Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive … Continue reading →

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A bit of good news in the wastewater

Posted on September 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll take it where I can get it. Community spread of coronavirus is on the decline from its recent summertime high, but experts warn that Labor Day gatherings and kids’ return to classrooms could bring a rash of new infections … Continue reading →

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The contract health worker surge

Posted on September 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t know how sustainable this is. Dr. Esmaeil Porsa, president and CEO of Harris Health System, said the hospitals in the system were at a breaking point when he learned that 100 temporary medical workers were being sent to help. … Continue reading →

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Readin’ and writin’ and gettin’ COVID

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome back to school, kids. Positive COVID-19 cases among Texas public school students rose by more than 9,000 last week, the highest number ever recorded in a seven-day period, state data shows. As of Aug. 22, there were 14,033 reports … Continue reading →

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Other things the Lege has been up to

Posted on August 29, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

A brief roundup, to clear some tabs… Bad Bail Bill 2.0 moves forward. A sweeping revision of the process for releasing accused criminals on bail won initial approval from the Texas House on Friday night, nearly three months after the … Continue reading →

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Yes, the wastewater is also pointing to a COVID surge

Posted on August 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In case you were wondering. There is more COVID-19 in the city’s wastewater system now than at any time in the pandemic, city officials said Wednesday, the latest warning that the virus is spreading at an unprecedented rate. Dr. David … Continue reading →

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A few words from the CEO of the Medical Center

Posted on August 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From an interview he did with Lisa Gray. What we’re seeing, sadly, is more of the same, only with more intense numbers. The number of people who are testing positive in our community continues to escalate month over month. The … Continue reading →

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It’s a bad time to go to a rural hospital

Posted on August 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Only gonna get worse, too, at least in the short term. For the past week, Brooke Hale has been told “no” about 80 times a day. The executive assistant at Altus Lumberton Hospital has spent her shifts on the phone … Continue reading →

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Abbott flails about on the COVID surge

Posted on August 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

He remains committed to the bit. Gov. Greg Abbott announced new moves Monday to fight the coronavirus pandemic as it rages again in Texas, including asking hospitals to again put off certain elective procedures to free up space for COVID-19 … Continue reading →

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Overflow COVID tents

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This is fine. Harris Health System’s intensive care units are nearly full as the delta variant sends more COVID-19 patients into hospitals, prompting the safety-net health system for the county’s indigent communities to construct tents for triaging patients. As of Monday afternoon, Lyndon … Continue reading →

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There needs to be more defiance of Greg Abbott and his no-mandates mandate

Posted on August 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I find a bit of a pattern in this story and wonder if there may be something to it. School districts, local officials and hospitals are pushing back on Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order barring mask and vaccine mandates, setting … Continue reading →

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The nursing shortage

Posted on August 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Just gonna leave this here. A nursing shortage and a high volume of patients prompted Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital on Sunday night to declare an “internal disaster” in the emergency room, where wait times swelled to 24 hours, Harris Health … Continue reading →

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Back to Code Red

Posted on August 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Pretty much inevitable at this point. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Thursday returned the county to the highest COVID-19 threat level and urged unvaccinated residents to stay home and avoid unnecessary contact with others. At a news conference, Hidalgo … Continue reading →

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The data for the “fourth wave” looks so, so bad

Posted on August 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Yikes. Fueled by the delta variant, a surge in Houston COVID-19 hospitalizations is growing as fast as at any time during the pandemic so far, and is projected to pass previous records by mid-August — even though roughly half of … Continue reading →

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