Hospitals in the US are becoming dangerously overcrowded as soaring Covid-19 cases in the community are compounded by clinical staff catching the coronavirus.
This has put patients of all types at a greater risk, eroding much of the relief provided by Omicron variant’s displacement of the more virulent Delta.
“Overcrowding kills,” said Sameer Kadri, an intensive care physician at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Centre.
Dr Kadri was the lead researcher on a landmark study early in the pandemic that found Covid-19 patients’ risk of dying rose when hospital staff had abnormally high caseloads.
It found that one in four deaths could be blamed on such surges.
Even with Omicron, “at some point, overcrowding becomes a game of sheer numbers,” he said. “And if the numbers are really high, it’s not rocket science: Variant or no variant, overcrowding probably will continue to kill.”
Among dangerous conditions caused by the staffing crisis, nurses point to a rise in hospital-acquired infections, including Covid; pressure injuries, such as bedsores; falls among patients; and delays in removing devices such as catheters.
Many US medical centres are so crowded that if a patient at a small community hospital needs to transfer to another facility for lifesaving dialysis or advanced heart attack care, they may end up dying owing to the for lack of available beds, said Prof Doug White, a professor of critical care at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. That’s what doctors call “dying in place” and it’s on the rise, he said.
Across the country, horrifying stories have been circulating within the medical community of patients found dead in their hospital room bathroom after they took off their oxygen supply to get out of bed. “The alarms went off and there was no one there to take care of them,” Mr White said. “Hospitals are maxed out and near the breaking point.”
Staff shortage
Staff shortages affect all patients, not only those with Covid-19. “Everyone, whether you have a heart attack or renal failure or gall bladder disease, you and the Covid patients are competing for the same scarce resources,” he said.
Nearly one-fifth of hospitals report that they are critically understaffed, even as their patient loads break records. The labor shortages at some hospitals have grown so dire that military medical staff are on their way to help in six states.
Lifespan, a Rhode Island health system with more than 1,200 beds, is among the institutions fortunate enough to receive military help. Its chief executive, Dr Tim Babineau, said the staff shortage was “unprecedented”.
Its senior vice president, Lisa Abbott, was grateful the Biden administration had sent at least 17 members of the military to help but said the staffing shortfall was huge.
“It’s a dumpster fire,” she said. “It’s a pandemic wrapped in a labour crisis. Omicron is the accelerant on the dumpster fire.”
Lifespan’s flagship Rhode Island Hospital is able to treat only about 590 patients in a facility that has more than 700 beds. About 180 inpatients are Covid-positive, a greater number than at any other time during the pandemic.
The company employs 17,000 people, but more than 2,000 positions are unfilled. More than 600 staff are off sick with Covid.
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Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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PROFILE BOX:
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Rami Salman, Rishav Jalan, Ayush Chordia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Technology, Sales, Voice, Artificial Intelligence
Size: (employees/revenue) 10/ 100,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($800,000)
Investors: Eight first-round investors including, Beco Capital, 500 Startups, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Hala Fadel, Odin Financial Services, Dubai Angel Investors, Womena, Arzan VC
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
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How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
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Golden Shoe top five (as of March 1):
Harry Kane, Tottenham, Premier League, 24 goals, 48 points
Edinson Cavani, PSG, Ligue 1, 24 goals, 48 points
Ciro Immobile, Lazio, Serie A, 23 goals, 46 points
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, Premier League, 23 goals, 46 points
Lionel Messi, Barcelona, La Liga, 22 goals, 44 points
'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness'
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams
Rating: 3/5
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