As hospitals struggle with an overflow of patients, several patients, who tested positive for COVID-19, at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare (TMH) are being discharged and/or transitioned to another department.
Brandon Smith a student at Florida A&M University was admitted into Tallahassee Memorial Hospital due to a severe allergy attack but ended up testing positive for COVID-19 while there.
Last week, Brandon was discharged from the hospital even though he was positive with the coronavirus. During Brandon’s visit he noticed chaos throughout the hospital. People filled the lobby as they waited to be seen and it was evident workers were overwhelmed.
It started off with a mild cough in morning, but by the end of the night before being discharged, his symptoms had gotten worse. He mentioned it to his nurse, but no one took the initiative to assist him because there were so many patients in need.
“I took a covid test, but that was just about it,” said Smith. “My nurse said I couldn’t stay any longer and that I had to be sent home because they needed to free up beds for more critical patients.”
Brandon expressed that his experienced wasn’t the best and he felt somewhat overlooked because the medical staff wasn’t attentive to his needs.
Davinaye Flowers, worker at TMH explains the cause behind the hectic days at the hospital.
When there is a crowd of patients waiting to be admitted, while others are transitioning out of the hospital’s care, the red level is reached. The hospital has been in the red on a regular basis the past month, particularly as more people are requiring COVID-related hospitalization.
“I remember overhearing the doctors and nurses explaining to the patients to please be understanding of the long wait times,” said Flowers. “This was a critical red level.”
The most recent surge, fueled by the fast-spreading, highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus is taking over hospitals as they are still battling the virus’ delta strain and trying to cope with the ongoing shortage of hospital personnel.
Patients are coming in at an alarming rate. Even when the hospital is in the red, TMH is still in the process of taking care of all their patients.