December 10th, 2021 by WCBC Radio
As the state surpassed 1,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations today, Governor Larry Hogan announced a series of actions to ensure hospitals are prepared for current and future surges due to the convergence of the flu, and the Delta and Omicron variants.
“Maryland has begun to see an uptick in our key health metrics, and we are increasingly concerned by the sharp rise in hospitalizations, which have doubled over the last three weeks,” said Governor Hogan. “State health officials are taking these additional actions as we continue to use every tool at our disposal to help Maryland hospitals have the resources they need to respond to this and future hospital surges.”
Enhanced statewide preparedness for the COVID-19 and Omicron variant surge includes the following:
Hospitals Directed to Update Emergency Plans, Maximize Use of Regional Hospitals and Alternate Care Sites. The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) is directing hospitals to update their existing emergency plans by Dec. 15 and immediately take steps to maximize hospital bed capacity.
Actions:
- Implement practices to balance patient admissions, and “level load” the number of COVID-19 inpatients versus the number of non-COVID-19 inpatients;
- Maximize available staffed medical-surgical and ICU bed capacity; and
- Balance patient capacity by maximizing the use of all regional hospitals and alternate care sites;
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