Consequences to our health care system require local collaboration

It’s been widely talked about since last spring that one of the most important reasons to do everything we can to slow the spread of COVID-19 is we have to protect our healthcare infrastructure. Overwhelming hospitals and EMS systems with COVID-19 patients has far reaching ramifications that often aren’t known or felt by the general public until they themselves have an emergency and need hospital care.

Last week, with Colorado’s significant upswing in cases, the state surpassed the previous record set in April of 901 COVID-19 hospitalizations in a single day. As of today, there are 1,044 confirmed cases hospitalized with another 102 likely COVID-19 patients awaiting confirmatory testing. Of those patients, 25 are right here in our six-county health district, up from just nine a week ago.  

Also of concern is the fact that for the first time in many months, there are now a number of large hospitals around the state reporting impending ICU bed shortages. Eight facilities from the metro area and north along the Front Range fall into that category.

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