EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this story cited Ohio’s Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff as saying 1 in 3 patients in Ohio were COVID positive. This was actually said by Dr. David Custodio with Summa Health and he said 1 in 3 patients were COVID positive in Summa’s health system.
As the Omicron variant of COVID-19 surpasses the Delta variant as the dominant variant of COVID in Ohio and the United States, state health officials continue to urge non-vaccinated individuals to get vaccinated.
Ohio reported a pandemic record of 12,864 daily cases Wednesday, breaking the record for the second straight day.
Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, Director of Ohio Department of Health said that emergency room staff at hospitals around the state are overwhelmed. He said emergency room staff are having issues with treating both COVID-related patients and those with other injuries.
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Dr. David Custodio, president of Summa Akron City and St. Thomas Hospitals in northeast Ohio, said 1 in 3 hospital beds at Summa’s hospitals are COVID patients.
Vanderhoff said that there is a great need for life-saving care since most hospital workers are tending to COVID patients. Those needing emergency care for broken bones, car accidents and other illnesses simply are having to wait.
As Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced last week, more than 1,000 Ohio National Guardsmen are being deployed to hospitals around the state. Those deployments will be done in waves and hospitals in the northeast part of the state will see the National Guard first.
According to Major Gen. John C. Harris with the Ohio National Guard, those who are being deployed to help the state’s hospital systems have been told they will be on-duty for an extended period-of-time. He said it’s unknown at this time how long the deployment will be.
Major Gen. Harris said guardsmen will be deployed in two categories – those with medical background who can provide bed-side care and those with a non-medical background who can help with cleaning surfaces, transporting patients and transportation of food.
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Dr. Vanderhoff said that roughly 700 guardsmen with a medical background will be deployed by end of this week. He said there will be 300 guardsmen who will be deployed by end of next week.
According to Vanderhoff, there are 4,700 people fighting for the life in hospitals in Ohio due to COVID.
Dr. Jennifer Wall Forrester, MD, Associate Chief Medical Officer for UC Health said, “Not all cases of COVID are the same.” She went on to say that COVID behaves differently for those who are vaccinated compared to those who are not vaccinated.
Health officials said it’s important to wash hands, wear masks and social distance whether you are vaccinated or not. They said getting vaccinated, along with the booster shot is the best method of keeping yourself safe from the disease.