COVID-19 cases across North Texas are on the rise, and hospitals are shifting gears to be ready. What does that look like, and will it be enough?
One immediate goal of slowing the spread of COVID-19 is to prevent overcrowding of hospitals. That鈥檚 why Dallas is preparing a pop-up facility at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Dallas Convention Center in downtown.
There may be a bigger worry.
鈥淭he thing that concerns me the most is workforce,鈥� says Stephen Love. He鈥檚 been the President and CEO of the for 13 years. His members include 90 North Texas hospitals.
鈥淵ou can have all the available beds you want, but you've got to staff those beds,鈥� Love says. "We feel like we鈥檙e prepared for the worst and hope for the best. It鈥檚 going be real close.
"But if a lot of the things we put in place 鈥� like stay-at-home 鈥� can flatten that curve enough, we can at least push it out enough over a longer period of time.鈥�
Love believes there鈥檒l be enough qualified workers like those with special training needed to operate ventilators. Hospitals have even asked retirees to come back.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be close. But we hope we鈥檝e all done enough that we can certainly handle the surge,鈥� he said.
Texas National Guards are working hard to set up a Federal Medical Station at .
— City of Dallas (@CityOfDallas)
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins has been doing what he can to protect those medical workers. He鈥檚 trying to increase needed supplies like personal protective equipment, or PPEs.
"We will pay you. We're not asking you to do this for free," Jenkins said. "Anyone that can make PPEs 鈥� if you have a shirt manufacturing facility, whatever 鈥� if you're currently not on because you manufacture clothing, you can turn back on if you manufacture PPEs."
And Stephen Love says because Dallas took precautions like closing restaurants and allowing take-out-only up to three weeks before New York did, the North Texas infection rate may be lower.
