Health officials in Oregon are predicting the state will hit the peak in hospitalizations this weekend or early next week.
Hospital leaders said the Omicron surge is different from previous ones. With the Delta surge, the biggest impact was on ICUs, but with Omicron the burden is falling on emergency rooms and general medical units.
“Today hospitals have 582 patients who could be discharged from the hospital, but there’s nowhere for them to go and this means they’re not in the best care setting for their needs,” Becky Hultberg, president/CEO of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, said.
“We need help moving patients out of the hospital to free up beds for people in the community who need them."
Dr. Laura Chess is the medical director at OHSU’s ER and said they’re bursting at the seams with patients.