More young people infected with COVID-19 are being hospitalized at Sarasota Memorial Hospital
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SARASOTA — More young people are being infected with the coronavirus, and even though they’re less likely to die from it, the increasing younger demographic is partly responsible for Sarasota Memorial Hospital’s record-breaking COVID-19 hospitalizations, hospital officials said Tuesday.
Sarasota Memorial is running out of lifesaving treatments for those patients because of nationwide shortages.
There are so many COVID-19 patients that Sarasota Memorial has expanded its capacity for critical care beds from 62 to more than 70.
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At last count, there are 106 patients at Sarasota Memorial infected with the coronavirus and 26 in the intensive care unit — 14 of which are on ventilators.
“We have never seen this large number of cases coming into the hospital,” said Manuel Gordillo, Sarasota Memorial’s medical director of infection prevention and control. “It is a trend we are seeing every week.”
In the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, Sarasota Memorial’s intensive care unit most commonly treated patients in their 80s — now they’re in their 60s. Age demographics are also skewing 20 years younger in patients not in the intensive care unit.
Unlike previously, where older patients had other health complications, COVID-19 is the only health diagnosis.
The spike in cases appears to be linked to more young people unknowingly transmitting the virus in the community, giving COVID-19 a bigger foothold and increasing the risk of infection for more vulnerable people.
“We’re still seeing nursing home patients coming in and there are still some travel-related patients,” said Joseph Seaman, a critical care pulmonologist at Sarasota Memorial. “But the bulk of patients are community spread.”
To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the city of Sarasota and the Town of Longboat Key have enacted mandatory mask ordinances. Sarasota County has largely ignored calls for them to do the same.
‘Fatigue’ and shortages
Because of the huge demand nationally for the antiviral drug Remdesivir, supplies at Sarasota Memorial hospital are frequently exhausted, Gordillo said.
Over the weekend, Florida was able to tap into a federal supply of the drug that has helped to reduce the time patients were in the hospital. Sarasota Memorial is now out of the drug and likely won’t receive the drug until July 27.
Also in short supply is convalescent plasma, the yellowish liquid part of blood that is collected from patients who have recovered from the novel coronavirus disease. Unlike other hospitals, Sarasota Memorial receives plasma donations through Suncoast Blood Bank.
While the hospital has struggled to obtain uncommon blood-types such as B, A and AB, Type O — the most common blood type— has also become increasingly hard to find.
The hospital has adequate supplies of personal protective equipment and ventilators.
While morale remains high at Sarasota Memorial, Gordillo is concerned about the strain the increased number of COVID-19 patients is having on the hospital workforce.
“We are humans and at some point we are going to reach some point of fatigue,” said Gordillo. “We are prepared but we always get concerned about getting overwhelmed with this continued influx of cases.”