California, in the past few weeks, has been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and many of its hospitals are overburdened by critically ill patients. But the hospitals in the Los Angeles area that are most overloaded, according to the Los Angeles Times, are the ones that primarily serve people of color and low-income patients.
Times reporters Matt Stiles, Emily Baumgaertner, Jaclyn Cosgrove and Andrew J. Campa, in an article published this week, explain that, according to the publication’s research and analysis, “densely populated, non-white communities” are facing “the biggest challenge in providing Care. “
According to reporters, “hospitals in southern Los Angeles, cities in southeastern LA county along Highway 710 and in southern parts of the San Gabriel valley are facing the biggest capacity problems, the data showed. Many of these facilities are relatively small and are less able to add intensive care staff or expand bed capacity than the largest hospitals in the county.
The reporters continued: “The data highlights how communities of color have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, with Latino and black residents much more likely to catch the virus and die from it compared to whites. Essential low-income workers often fall ill during the work the job and then spread the COVID-19 to the family, officials said. “
The release of data by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, they write, “shows that more than 6,000 coronavirus patients were hospitalized in LA County, on average last week, almost four times more than a month ago , increasing the proportion of all hospitalized patients with the disease above 40%. “
The situation is especially dire at Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center, where, according to Times reporters, “more than 80% of patients are or are suspected of being infected with the virus”.
“Some new patients with the disease are being treated near the emergency department waiting area, in a screening room with doctors, and some who are stable enough to leave are being sent home with oxygen,” explain the doctors. Times journalists. “The patients were ‘huddled in administrative corridors, tucked in corners, hanging from chairs,’ said a health professional, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal. When the emergency room ran out of cracks, employees started treating people right in the waiting room. “