ER doc warns RI hospitals are at risk of being overwhelmed

One of the head E.R. doctors in the state is sounding the alarm that we are in a new surge of coronavirus cases.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – One of the head E.R. doctors in the state is sounding the alarm that we are in a new surge of coronavirus cases, and we will need to change our behavior immediately to ensure the
hospital system does not get overwhelmed again, as it did in the spring.

The Chief of Emergency Medicine at Lifespan Dr. Jay Schuur says he saw the most Covid patients during a shift last week, than he’s seen on shift all year. He believes the rise in cases is being mirrored in the hospitals slowly but surely.

“We are looking an awful lot like we did back at the beginning to middle of the surge in the spring,” said Schuur.

Monday marked a grim milestone as the U.S. hit 10 million coronavirus cases.

Schuur says he typically sees 20-30 people come into the E.R. while on shift. Last Friday, of that number, roughly 20 percent had Covid, and some had to be hospitalized.

“It takes a couple of weeks from when we start seeing a rise in cases in the community, until we start to see patients showing up at the hospital,” said Schuur.

Dr. Schuur urges people to immediately change their behavior with social distancing and mask wearing.
If you do have someone over, he says make sure to wear a mask around them. Otherwise, more extreme measures may have to be taken once again.

“What I’m trying to tell people is that if we don’t make these changes now, there are going to have to be external limits if the healthcare system and other places get overwhelmed,” said Schuur.

As for Monday’s news of a possible vaccine in the works, Dr. Schuur says it’s great news for the future, but that right now we need to focus on the current surge to save lives.

“We’re talking about something that at the earliest is months away. And the behavior change we need to do is today,” said Schuur.

Dr. Schuur added that as of now they are not overwhelmed with patients, and are balancing Covid patients with those having surgery, cancer treatment, etc., but he warns if they start to see an influx in patients, it threatens their ability to provide those critical medical needs.