Name: ‘Adding beds in hospital cafeteria better than creating makeshift hospital,’ STRAC director says
Brand: ksat.com
SKU: ksat-com-112
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

‘Adding beds in hospital cafeteria better than creating makeshift hospital,’ STRAC director says

preview

WEATHER ALERTTags:&nbsp;Sign up for our NewslettersTags:&nbsp;SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio hospitals are doing everything they can to make more beds available to patients who need them.On Monday, the amount of available staffed hospital beds, which is also known as hospital capacity, was listed at 12%.During a Q&amp;A with Eric Epley, the executive director of Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council, or STRAC, it was discussed how hospitals are making room for more patients during the pandemic.Epley said it’s better for hospitals to build capacity within their own walls rather than create makeshift hospitals. For example, instead of using Freeman Coliseum as an overflow hospital, hospitals would be better off adding beds to their cafeterias.“That would be to be an alternate care site, because you’re still inside that hospital have laboratory services, and respiratory services, and imaging capabilities and other things that are essential. So, our push right now is to put as many care providers as we can into the hospitals and build new capability,” Epley said.The Texas Department of State Health Services and the Department of Defense have sent nurses and other medical professionals, including respiratory therapists, to Bexar County to help with the surge in hospitalizations.As COVID-19 cases spike in Texas, and other places like Arizona and Florida, there is a need for more medical professionals across the nation.“The reality is that the national model for disaster response is built to take assets that are in an unaffected area and send them to that affected area. And right now, in a pandemic, everybody is basically, sort of, affected,” Epley said.If hospitals reach their limit, it doesn’t impact only COVID-19 patients. It also impacts other patients who need immediate care, including people suffering from heart attacks.“When the system is overloaded, if we do get to that point, it’s not going to be available for anyone. And I don’t think in modern times we’ve really seen a situation like that,” he said.Freeman Coliseum, which could fit roughly 250 hospital beds, could be used as an alternative care site if the state reaches the fifth level of its surge plan, according to Epley.During a city and county briefing on Tuesday, Dr. Colleen Bridger, the interim director of Metro Health, said using Freeman Coliseum is a last resort. “Our first priority is to increase staffing in order to keep patients in the full service hospitals. If we get to the point where we’ve filled every possible bed by bringing in every possible nurse to do that, then our next step is to go to TCID (Texas Center for Infectious Disease),” Bridger said.The Texas Center for Infectious Disease was used at the start of the pandemic to monitor . Epley said hospitals in rural areas, including Del Rio and Eagle Pass, are also experiencing an increase in hospitalizations. He said STRAC is trying to help them with equipment and staffing needs.Epley said the goal is to “keep patients near their home and where they’re more comfortable and also try to lessen the burden on San Antonio by not just automatically transferring someone in.”Copyright 2020 by KSAT - All rights reserved.About the Authors:

WEATHER ALERTTags:&nbsp;Sign up for our NewslettersTags:&nbsp;SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio hospitals are doing everything they can to make more beds available to patients who need them.On Monday, the amount of available staffed hospital beds, which is also known as hospital capacity, was listed at 12%.During a Q&amp;A with Eric Epley, the executive director of Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council, or STRAC, it was discussed how hospitals are making room for more patients during the pandemic.Epley said it’s better for hospitals to build capacity within their own walls rather than create...

public

Steve Spriester

Brina Monterroza

ksat.com

Credible

Speculation

Anecdotal Evidence

Generalization

Stacking the Deck

Appeal to Authority

Straw Man

Slippery Slope

Emotional Appeal

Red Herring

False Dilemma

Illogical

Moral Equivalency

Ad Hominem

Correlation w/o Causation

Semantics

Begging the Question

Faulty Analogy

Non Sequitur

Bandwagon

Dogmatism

Failing Occam's Razor

Biased

Pure Opinion

Hit Piece

Racial Bias

National Bias

Religious Bias

Financial Incentive

Political Agenda

Gender Bias

Misused Image/Video

Study Misinterpreted

Mistake

Misused Term

Science Misrepresented

Factual Error

Satire

Surface Level

Lack of Reliable Sources

Sensational

Not Credible

Investigative

Balanced

Well Sourced

Great Context

sports

entertainment

U.S.

international

business

technology

science

culture

politics

media

health

‘Adding beds in hospital cafeteria better than creating makeshift hospital,’ STRAC director says

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS