Almost 2 years into the pandemic, amid yet another surge in hospitalizations, parts of the nation’s health-care system are still overwhelmed and understaffed, struggling to deal with a crush of cases among the unvaccinated.
The most recent spike in Covid patients requiring intensive care is happening at the same time hospitals around the country are facing acute staff shortages, a long-term trend made worse by the punishing conditions of the pandemic.
The National Disaster Medical Assistance System has been a key emergency stopgap for U.S. hospitals. Like the National Guard, its teams typically deploy in response to natural disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes when medical resources are overwhelmed. But since early 2020, they have been setting up in hospitals and other facilities on over 700 “missions” in 38 states and U.S. territories.
San Juan’s CEO is blunt. Without this federal assistance, he says, the hospital would face “a clinical catastrophe.” San Juan ICU nurse Heather Robinson said that some days, “It felt like I was in a movie. It did not seem real.”