State health officials taking additional steps as COVID-19 hospitalizations rise
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Governor Larry Hogan has announced a series of additional actions to address the potential for a further surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state.
The Maryland Department of Health and other key state agencies have been working daily with the state’s hospitals and the Maryland Hospital Association on critical operational issues to ensure patient bed capacity since November.
In addition, the state health department has established a Surge Operation Center to manage the state’s daily operations, including a sustained COVID-19 surge at hospitals, including a potential sudden influx of unvaccinated patients. This operation center is:
- Coordinating directly with hospitals to engage on hospital surge
- Facilitating Emergency Department patient transfers to mitigate hospital surge capacity by fully utilizing Maryland’s Alternate Care Site capacity
- Assisting with maintaining Intensive Care Unit transfer via the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems capabilities.
State health issued a new directive on Wednesday, ordering hospitals to undertake several actions upon reaching certain state COVID-19 hospitalization thresholds:
- At 1,200, make available all staffed bed capacity and reduce scheduling non-urgent medical surgeries that would result in an overnight stay
- At 1,500, hospitals are directed to implement their pandemic plans
The Maryland Department of Health has also requested hospitals to submit their updated existing pandemic plans immediately for implementation. Hospitals are directed to optimize existing bed capacity, adjust hospital capacity such as bringing additional staffed beds into service, redeploy staff or alter staffing models, reduce non-urgent and elective procedures, transfer patients to ACSs, and bridge idle clinical or administrative space online or convert other space for clinical care.
State health officials say they are working closely with Maryland’s Board of Physicians, Board of Pharmacy, and Board of Nursing to advance emergency regulations to enhance healthcare staffing at hospitals, including allowing temporary licensees for retired Maryland healthcare professionals. In addition, simplifying or eliminating the administrative burdens for interstate compact or out-of-state healthcare providers to practice in Maryland at licensed healthcare facilities.
Wednesday morning, the Maryland Board of Physicians discussed and approved emergency regulations on this subject, which will now go to the Maryland General Assembly for review before taking effect as soon as January 1, 2022.
