IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — After a year into the coronavirus pandemic, different regions of the Gem State are facing separate realities. Some areas are seeing the number of new cases plateau or decline, but Eastern Idaho is dealing with another surge in cases, leaving hospitals feeling the squeeze.
On Thursday, The New York Times published an article ranking COVID-19 outbreaks in metro areas across the United States. When it comes to the newest cases relative to population, Idaho Falls was at the top of the list with %55.9 daily cases per 1,000 people. Rexburg, Idaho came in at number three in the nation.
Eastern Idaho medical professionals told KTVB that they are nearing hospital capacities once again.
“We have one-quarter of the population of Ada County and there have been days when we have had more cases than Ada County with a population in Ada that is four times our population,” said Dr. Kenneth Krell, an ICU Specialist at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, “We are in this trajectory where we have got increased cases but don't yet have the immunity.”
Krell said that EIRMC has been at capacity for several days. While coronavirus patients are not making up the majority of hospitalizations, he worries that the number of COVID-19 patients is climbing, leaving limited options for patients with medical concerns not related to the virus.
“We have been using overflow and we beg, borrow and steal beds from elsewhere in the hospital,” Krell said. “It’s an odd situation because we are at the point where we are seeing fewer hospitalized patients who are over 65 particularly the nursing home population, we have made a difference in that population.”
Krell said part of the reason seniors aren’t making up a majority of the hospitalist capacity is due to vaccines. In early February, Eastern Idaho Public Health began lifting public health orders, including mask mandates. Krell believes lifting mask mandates has impacted Eastern Idaho hospitalizations.
“The political climate is different here and somehow we allowed masking to become a politicized endeavor with resistance from a certain portion of the population who are probably more prevalent in Eastern Idaho," he said.
Krell said the rise in cases has predominantly been in Bonneville County.
In December, the county saw a peak of a 14-day moving average of 112 cases. In February, the number dropped down to 15.8. More recently, the seven-day moving average climbed to 73.2 cases.
“It is simply a matter of exhaustion at this point, we have nurses who are working 18-hour shifts and then eight hours off and then right back to another shift of 12 or 18 hours and during those shifts having to take care of more patients than our usual ratio of patients to nurses,” Krell explained.
“We are at the point where we could be seeing a decrease in cases and every time we admit another patient to the ICU that’s another critically ill patient that could have been avoided if we had more caution," he added.
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