US-HEALTH-VIRUS

Medical Director of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Dr. Thomas Yadegar checks the vital signs of a patient in a prep and hold area which is usually reserved for patients that have had cardiac procedure, but its being used as a holding area for patients that require admission to the Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Tarzana, California on January 3, 2021. - Approximately four weeks ago, the hospital had a very manageable census, and very small amounts of patients in the ICU, but since Thanksgiving it seems like the census has been doubling every 10 days and they've gotten to a point where 80% of the hospital is filled with patients with Covid-19, and  90% of the ICU is now filled with Covid-19. According to doctor Yadegar, it's not just a matter of room, but it's also the staffing to have nurses, as well as doctors to be able to take care of those patients. It's very difficult to get critical care nurses and doctors. So, it's hard to expand, even if we can expand with the number of beds in the rooms it's impossible to expand in terms of nurses and doctors because there's limited resources. The situation is very dire. The hospital systems are at a breaking point unless we were able to get this infection under control. It's not sustainable. Unfortunately, the emergency room is having to close and not be able to take patients that are coming in with ambulances because we don't have room for them, and at this point this is impacting not just what happens in the hospital but it affects everyone in the community. (Photo by Apu GOMES / AFP) (Photo by APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images)