washington state hospital association

Washington health care leaders say hospitals are again “dramatically over capacity,” as challenges discharging patients worsen and staff shortages persist. Officials say the high patient loads aren’t directly because of COVID-19 cases, although they are increasing, but due to delayed procedures and difficulties discharging hospital patients.

The good news is COVID-19 hospitalizations in Washington are trending down. That’s according to the Washington State Hospital Association. The bad news: COVID deaths are on the rise. And flu season is on the horizon.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has asked the federal government for assistance staffing hospitals and long-term care facilities in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Inslee wrote the White House COVID-19 coordinator that the state Department of Health has requested 1,200 clinical and non-clinical staff, and that he was requesting deployment of Department of Defense medical personnel “to assist with the current hospital crisis.”

Washington is facing its own COVID-19 crisis and has little capacity to help neighboring Idaho deal with an overwhelming surge of cases driven by unvaccinated people, state hospital executives and doctors said Monday.

More vaccines are on the way to Washington state. Cassie Sauer, the CEO of the Washington State Hospital Association, says the thousands of doses that…