Free Republic

We had to destroy the hospitals to save them. You could be forgiven for thinking that’s the upshot of the coronavirus lockdowns that have suspended elective surgeries and generally discouraged people from going to hospitals. Many hospitals and health centers are getting pushed near, or over, the financial edge. At a time when we feared that hospitals would get overwhelmed by a surge of patients, they have been emptied out. At a time when we thought medical personnel would be at a premium, they are being idled all over the country.

Hospitals on the Rochester campus are operating at 35 to 40 percent capacity, and surgical volume is at 25 to 30 percent of the level that was expected. About 60 percent of Mayo Clinic's business comes from elective procedures of the kind that are now on hold. This is latest step in Mayo Clinic's financial stabilization strategy to address an anticipated $3 billion loss due to the pandemic forcing a temporary halt in all elective procedures and average medical appointments.

What some who don’t live in Georgia may not realize is that Gov. Brian Kemp’s original shelter-in-place order was not a total lockdown. Undeterred by his critics, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is moving forward with the bold decision to begin to reopen his state’s businesses and launch our return to normal life. According to an order Kemp promulgated Monday, nail salons, massage therapists, tattoo parlors, bowling alleys, gyms, and other businesses may reopen on Friday. In-person church services can reopen. On Monday, restaurants and movie theaters may reopen. Dentists’ and doctors’ offices and all other health care-related practices and services...

As coronavirus hysteria cripples society and destroys the global economy, a bizarre trend is emerging of “first responders” performing orchestrated dance routines on social media. There have been dozens of videos that have emerged of nurses and other medical personnel coordinating dance routines in hospitals while on the job, presumably neglecting COVID patients for likes on TikTok and Instagram.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday warned against the use of hydroxychloroquine or the closely related chloroquine for COVID-19 outside of hospitals or clinical trials. The drugs, approved decades ago for several uses, including the treatment of malaria, have shown promise in small studies and in hospitals for treating COVID-19 but other studies have suggested harmful side effects or no evidence they work against the new disease. The FDA said in the warning that it was aware of reports of heart rhythm problems seen in some patients with COVID-19 treated with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, often in combination with...

Across the country, hospitals shut down 'non-essential' procedures in preparation for a surge of coronavirus patients that never appeared. When the lockdowns began last month, we were told that if we didn’t stay home our hospitals would be overwhelmed with coronavirus patients, intensive care wards would be overrun, there wouldn’t be enough ventilators, and some people would probably die in their homes for lack of care. To maintain capacity in the health-care system, we all had to go on lockdown—not just the big cities, but everywhere.So we stayed home, businesses closed, and tens of millions of Americans lost their jobs....

It may seem odd that hospitals are empty as planned medical procedures are canceled, but to subject your body to the stress of surgery and recovery would put you in danger needlessly. The recent article “I Can’t Get My Hip Surgery Because Of Coronavirus Even Though Nobody Is In Our Hospital” highlighted the very real problems coronavirus has created in all our communities. It is true that necessary preparations have compounded challenges and left many suffering in ways that are not immediately obvious. As a physician dealing with COVID-19, I have a different perspective.My heart goes out to you, Anonymous....

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said during a press briefing on Saturday that COVID-19 hospitalizations are "starting to descend" while also calling for more testing throughout the state. The governor cited models depicting a decline in hospitalizations and ICU admissions related to the illness for the past three days, adding that medical facilities are no longer reporting that they are at "max capacity." Cuomo also highlighted that the rates of intubation – the process of placing COVID-19 patients on breathing ventilators – are down, too. "The probability is about 80 percent that you won't come off a ventilator after...

Major hospitals in New York, Louisiana and other areas hit hardest by the coronavirus outbreak are routinely using hydroxychloroquine on patients hospitalized with COVID-19, though robust evidence on whether it works is weeks, if not months, away.Hydroxychloroquine is a treatment for malaria and autoimmune diseases in use since the 1950’s. The related drug chloroquine has been in use even longer, but is considered to be less safe. The drugs can have serious side effects, including vision loss, heart problems or even death, if used incorrectly. Below are examples of how some hospitals are using the therapy: NORTHWELL HEALTH, NEW YORK...

The types of financial shocks hospitals currently face illustrate the problems inherent in Democrats’ proposed expansions of government-run health care. The coronavirus pandemic has inflicted such vast damage on the American economy that one damaged sector has gone relatively unnoticed. Despite incurring a massive influx of new patients, the hospital industry faces what one executive called a “seismic financial shock” from the virus. The types of shocks hospitals currently face also illustrate the problems inherent in Democrats’ proposed expansions of government-run health care. Likewise, the pay and benefit cuts and furloughs that some hospitals have enacted in response to these...

MADISON — A northern Illinois man with fast-growing leg and abdominal aneurysms was forced to cancel his scheduled surgery. His doctor told him the operation, although very necessary, was a “nonessential” procedure in the COVID-19 era. If left unattended, the aneurysms could cause blood clots, blocking blood flow. If the bulges burst in his stomach, they could cause severe pain, an extreme drop in blood pressure, shock, even death. But the man, who lives near the Wisconsin border, said his doctor had no choice but to postpone his surgery to free up resources for coronavirus patients. Concern has risen in...

I just finished an online chat with my HS girlfriend. She's a RN in a NJ hospital. I learned a few things that are going on in that facility. They are packed. The hospital went into a "divert status" two weeks ago. That means heart attacks, strokes, car accidents, etc. have to go elsewhere. The ICU is all COVID-19, all ventilated. The ER has a large number of ventilated patients also. Previously unused wards that had one time been pediatrics are now negative pressure COVID wards, all full. The initial order for most COVID-19 patients includes hydroxychloroquine and an azithromycin...

The USNS Comfort and the Javits Convention Center are still sitting mostly empty despite being set up in New York City to treat coronavirus patients while emergency rooms across the city overflow with patients. The 1,000-bed Comfort and 2,500-bed Javits Center were set up by the federal government and military to alleviate the strain on New York's hospitals at the height of the pandemic. But immediately, hospital executives expressed frustration and outrage at the red tape that was stopping them from actually contributing to the crisis. The first problem was that neither was willing to take COVID-19 patients. The Comfort...

Focusing only on coronavirus deaths and illnesses doesn’t tell the full story of what is happening in America. Other patients, waiting with no end in sight, deserve not to be forgotten. I’m one of many Americans waiting in limbo for a surgery because of coronavirus. I have a hip problem that cannot be solved with physical therapy, and my quality of life is miserable while I wait for the hospital — cleared out to make way for potential COVID-19 patients — to reschedule my procedure.Each step I take is a deep, painful grinding feeling that makes my leg ache, and...

CBS News posted a video of a nurse crying that claims she Quit her job because she was asked to work in an ICU with no mask. The nurse which the Twitter community labeled as “the Crying Nurse” become viral. CBS posted: In tears, a nurse says she quit her job after she was asked to work in a coronavirus ICU without a face mask: “America is not prepared, and nurses are not being protected” Video below: https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1246804028601896961?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1246804028601896961&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fconservativeus.com%2Fjussie-smollett-2-0-people-suspect-that-cbs-staged-the-video-of-the-crying-nurse-where-she-claims-she-quit-because-was-asked-to-work-without-a-mask%2F The video divided Twitter users because another video from her social account came to light and one took her side and felt...

USA: More videos by citizen journalists show that in hospitals described by US media as “war zones“ it is in fact still very quiet.

A relative has asked if I have seen Youtube videos of the streets of USA cities. I recalled a video showing there was no outside line at a hospital in New York City a couple of days ago. Now I cannot find it. I would expect there to be some Youtube videos showing empty streets, at least. I am not finding them, so far. Perhaps others, more adept at searching for them, can direct me to them. My relative suggests Youtube is censoring them. Any links to current videos, not done by major media outlets, would be appreciated.

The Wuhan epidemic is bringing to light many regulations and processes that have needlessly impeded efforts to fight the virus by private industry, as well as by government. Quite a few such regulations are now being suspended, causing many to ask, why did we have them in the first place? Minnesota’s governor has ordered a draconian shutdown that is devastating the state’s economy and will bankrupt thousands of small businesses. Why? As elsewhere, to “flatten the curve.” The concern is that Minnesota doesn’t have enough hospital beds and, especially, enough ICU beds to accommodate COVID-19 patients who will need them...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Some hospitals in West Virginia are starting to have cash flow problems with the doing away of elective surgeries and other procedures due to the coronavirus. West Virginia Hospital Association President Joe Letnaunchyn said many services normally offered are being put off in the current environment. “The Surgeon General said cancel elective surgeries and you cancel electives, you cancel other related ancillary services and the revenue stream dries up,” Letnaunchyn said during an appearance Monday on MetroNews “Talkline.” “So we’re trying to find alternate ways to provide revenue to the hospitals in the interim until the federal...

Once again, government intrusion into the health-care sector has proved disastrous. While New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo blames the president and the federal government for the lack of beds and ventilators in his state, the power to determine the number of these critical medical supplies in New York hospitals falls squarely upon the shoulders of the governor.During a Tuesday press conference, Cuomo lashed out at the federal government for not sending enough ventilators as the Wuhan coronavirus continues to rattle the state. “Four hundred ventilators? I need 30,000 ventilators,” Cuomo said. “You want a pat on the back for sending...