HEALTH

'It's not too late': Arizona health care workers demand state action against omicron

Stephanie Innes
Arizona Republic

A group of Arizona health care workers and advocates is calling on the state to take urgent action in addressing a mounting number of COVID-19 infections and what they say is a collapsing health care system.

Top on their list: statewide vaccine and mask mandates, and a prohibition on large gatherings.

At least 1,100 Arizona health professionals, including physicians, nurses and caregivers, have signed an open letter to Gov. Doug Ducey, health care leaders and state and county officials asking for immediate action, including policy changes, in order to combat the latest omicron-fueled surge of COVID-19 cases in the state.

"Without immediate action and intervention, the impending omicron surge will cause many preventable deaths, for both patients infected with COVID-19 and those seeking care for nonCOVID life-threatening illnesses," the letter says.

On Friday the group held a virtual briefing with reporters, saying they want to use their collective voice to sound the alarm about an overburdened health care workforce and call for intervention into what's already a crisis situation in hospitals and other medical facilities across Arizona.

"Enough is enough. We demand action. It's not too late at this point in time to change course," Tucson family physician Dr. Cadey Harrel said during the briefing. "We are on the brink of collapse and we don't have a backup plan."

Ducey on Friday said that he had not yet seen the letter but will take it "under advisement."

There won't be any mandates, he added.

Fueled by the extremely contagious omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19, case numbers in Arizona are rising quickly, and hospitals are straining under the weight of low staffing numbers and high patient demand.

On Friday, Arizona reported 14,888 new COVID-19 cases and 30 new known deaths.

Omicron:It's exceptionally contagious. Here's what to do if you test positive

More people tested positive for COVID-19 in Arizona on Jan. 3 than any day previously during the pandemic, according to state data.

"Health care is completely different now than it was two years ago," Phoenix emergency room physician Dr. Kara Geren said during Friday's briefing. "We have more patients with fewer staff and resources."

Patients likely will face longer waits than usual until they see a nurse, until they are evaluated by a physician or advanced practice provider, and until they are able to get the tests and medications they need, Geren said.

"If you are admitted to the hospital you might spend days waiting in the emergency department for a bed on a hospital floor," she said. "If you require specialty care that can only be provided at a different hospital and require a transfer, you will wait days in the emergency department until the other hospital can take care of you."

Geren said if more patients were vaccinated, Arizona hospitals would not be so busy. It's frustrating, she said.

"Some believe we're the villains, when all we want to do is help patients," she said. "Things for health care workers are only getting worse. ... There are staff shortages throughout health care, including X-ray and CT technicians, behavioral health technicians, housekeeping, physicians, just to name a few."

More skilled health care workers are needed and so are policies that follow public health guidelines, she said.

"We used to have the resources to treat patients and rest and heal after a difficult day," she said. "Now we rush from one patient to another, with limited time to process."

Dr. Bradley Dreifuss, a Tucson emergency room physician, said he regularly sees patients who regret their decision not to follow public health guidance and they are particularly remorseful if their children get infected.

Banning large gatherings would prevent a lot of the problems he's seeing in families affected by COVID-19, he said.

"I'm having pediatric patients coming in with new seizure disorders after COVID," he said. "The Long COVID issue is something we have not addressed or quantified the cost of for society."

Long COVID refers to prolonged health problems following a COVID-19 infection.

Tucson-based epidemiologist Elizabeth Jacobs said that omicron has created a completely new COVID-19 situation in Arizona and that state leaders need to respond.

"This is an opportunity to pivot," she said. "It is clear from the data that we are getting hammered by omicron and that we need mitigation urgently."

Republic reporters Alison Steinbach and Ray Stern contributed to this article.

Reach the reporter at Stephanie.Innes@gannett.com or at 602-444-8369. Follow her on Twitter @stephanieinnes.

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