WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - Healthcare officials at UMass Memorial Medical Center are urging Massachusetts residents to get the COVID-19 vaccine after the hospital’s ICU reached full capacity.
“Right now we have a critical bed shortage here in central Massachusetts. It’s especially full in the ICUs,” said UMass Memorial CEO Dr. Eric Dickson.
Twenty-two of the 140 beds in the UMass Memorial ICU are currently occupied by COVID-19 patients. Twenty of those patients are unvaccinated, according to hospital staff.
“Anytime I’m going to be in the public eye I’m going to tell people to get vaccinated,” said UMass Memorial ICU Director Dr. Nicholas Smyrnios. “Vaccination is how we get out of this, and we need to get out of this.”
The hospital is now forcing overtime upon some of its staff in order to meet demand. Additionally, elective surgeries such as hip and knee replacements are being postponed until more beds open back up.
“We desperately hope to catch up with those soon, but we’re stressed at all times,” Smyrnios said. “We get through it day by day.”
Circumstances were even worse at the hospital last week, according to Dickson, who said some cancer patients had their surgeries postponed in favor of other, more serious cases.
At St. Vincent Hospital, nurses have been on strike since March 8. Dickson said this has robbed the area of 80 much needed beds.
Though both sides say they are working toward a solution, Dickson does not believe it’s enough.
“We need them to be more flexible and come together to solve this problem, because patients are ultimately going to be harmed if we don’t,” he said.
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