Under pressure, the federal government announced it will let surgery centers, hotels and even college dorms serve as hospitals to treat an overflow of patients.
Category: Doctors
The Nation’s 5,000 Outpatient Surgery Centers Could Help With The COVID-19 Overflow
A coalition of anesthesiologists wants to repurpose the country’s more than 5,000 surgery centers to serve as emergency overflow amid the coronavirus pandemic. The centers have trained medical staff largely sitting idle, anesthesia machines that could be turned into ventilators, and empty medical space. But obstacles such as federal payment rules, logistics and some skepticism are getting in the way.
Physicians Fear For Their Families As They Battle Coronavirus With Too Little Armor
Doctors sent an impassioned, desperate letter to Congress describing the lack of protective equipment across the country — from masks to respirators to gowns to goggles. They’re using equipment from construction sites and home-repair stores or wearing the same mask from patient to patient. And they worry about what exposure without sufficient protection means for them and their families.