LEADER PROFILE
How “Delta” Changes Caregiving By Nancy Robertson
T
he Delta variant of SARS CoV-2 is changing the face of health care in three ways: There are changes in the disease itself, a change in the ages of those being hospitalized with it today, and changes affecting caregivers and their caregiving. With Delta’s advance comes added concern for health care providers caring for COVID-19 patients. After more than 20 months working around the clock with desperately ill COVID patients, they are physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted as hospitalization numbers, deaths, and cases of the virus continue to hit new levels, despite the availability of vaccines. “It’s hard to believe we’re still having discussions about COVID-19 all these months after vaccines became available,” says Chad Aduddell, Market CEO of CHI St. Vincent. “In April, after a few months of people receiving vaccinations, we saw the return of patients who had delayed care during the pandemic’s first waves. It gave us a glimmer of hope that things were changing. “But in May, we noticed a data blip, and another in early June, showing an uptick of COVID cases being seen in our clinics. It was, of course, due to the Delta variant making its way to Arkansas. Like other systems in Arkansas [and the South], our hospitalizations began to rise, and we continue to treat people who are very sick with the Delta variant today.” With fellow health care leaders the world over, Aduddell noted with alarm the Delta variant’s rise first in India, then in the United Kingdom, then in the United States first in the Branson/Springfield area of neighboring Missouri. With distressing reports of its more contagious nature and the effect it was having on younger adults and children, Aduddell and his team prepared in early summer for another long wave of COVID hospitalizations. “We were, and remain, thrilled with the numbers of older folks who chose to be vaccinated with the new COVID-19 vaccines,” Aduddell says. “In fact, we were very excited to offer the shots at large vaccination events throughout our system earlier in the year.” But adults under the age of 50 – not as highly susceptible to the early variants and less likely to choose vaccination – are the majority of adult cases presenting in late summer and early fall. Hospitals in the CHI St. Vincent system, like hospitals all over the South, are full. The vast majority of adult COVID cases are among the unvaccinated. And the numbers of children being treated are also growing. Aduddell simultaneously expresses confidence in his health care teams’ ability to care for those with the virus and his concern for their rates of exhaustion and frustration.
34 FALL 2021 | ARKANSAS HOSPITALS
