Urgent Plea From Swamped Hospitals: Get Vaccinated, Don’t Misuse the ER

Maryland’s hospitals are nearly full, and staff are facing extreme burnout and illness, the state’s hospitals warned on Tuesday — and they begged unvaccinated residents to take action at once. 

The blunt warning — issued by the Maryland Hospital Association — came as the state’s COVID-19 infection and hospitalization rates again hit all-time highs.  

The wave of patients has forced more than a dozen facilities to shift to a rarely used operating mode known as “crisis standards of care.” That posture allows hospital managers to redeploy staff, discharge recovering patients more quickly, and change other protocols to meet the surging demand. 

Almost all of the COVID-19 patients now flooding Maryland hospitals are unvaccinated or under-vaccinated, meaning their hospitalizations — in most cases — could have been prevented. 

“Maryland hospitals and their dedicated caregivers have been saving lives from this deadly disease for two years,” said Bob Atlas, the association’s president and CEO in a statement. “We need your help as we suffer the worst surge of this crisis.”

The best thing people can do, the association said, is get vaccinated and boosted, and make sure loved ones, relatives and friends have done likewise. And, they said, it is imperative that people wear masks anytime they are around others. 

There were 3,452 people in the state’s hospitals as of Tuesday morning, a three-fold increase from one month ago. Since the start of the weekend, nearly 37,000 new infections have been reported and 117 people have died, far more than perished in the entire month of July. 

“Hospitals are really at the end point,” Atlas said in a recent interview. He said that many nurses and other hospital personnel are leaving for out-of-state job offers or leaving the profession entirely due to stress. 

The overwhelming majority of hospitalized COVID-19 patients here, 84%, are unvaccinated, the association reported, adding that Maryland ranks 18th for those who have received booster shots.

Officials warned that the surge could last “for weeks.” When Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency last week, 3,057 hospital patients had the coronavirus, and he said the number could reach 5,000 in the weeks ahead.

To ease the burden on overtaxed hospital workers, many of whom have been fighting the pandemic non-stop for nearly two years, the association is urging Marylanders to go to the emergency room only when it’s appropriate. 

“Hospital emergency departments are stretched incredibly thin,” MHA said. “Be sure to receive the right care in the right place. Do not visit a hospital emergency room for a COVID-19 test or vaccine or booster. See your doctor, visit an urgent care center, or use a tele-health visit for minor conditions. Use emergency departments for life- or limb-threatening needs.”

The association urged people to wear masks, keep a distance from others and quarantine if exposed to COVID-19 or if symptoms arise. 

Crisis standards of care are in effect at these locations, meaning people can expect longer wait times and limited resources:

• Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis
• Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie
• Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore
• Bowie Health Center in Bowie
• CalvertHealth in Prince Frederick
• Capital Region Health in Laurel
• Charles Regional Medical Center in La Plata
• Doctors Community Medical Center in Lanham
• Frederick Health Hospital in Frederick
• Harford Memorial Hospital in Havre de Grace
• Howard County General Hospital in Columbia
• Laurel Medical Center Emergency Department in Laurel
• St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson
• Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air

Adventist HealthCare Takoma Park Hospital and University of Maryland Laurel Medical Center are both operating as alternate care sites to supplement hospitals, and they recently expanded capacities, Maryland Department of Health spokesman Andy Owen said.

Maryland Matters’ news partner patch.com contributed to this report. 

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