Credit courtesy of Spectrum Health
The state confirmed another 5,584 cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic above 800,000. More than 17,000 people in Michigan have now passed away due to COVID-19.
That update comes as some hospital leaders in West Michigan expressed hope that the current surge may be reaching its peak. Nearly 4,000 people are currently hospitalized because of COVID-19, and 530 are on ventilators, according to the state.
“We are hopeful that we have reached a peak this past weekend,” says Tina Freese Decker, CEO of Spectrum Health, in an update with media on Wednesday.
Spectrum Health officials hopeful latest COVID-19 surge has peaked
Updated Apr 21, 2021;
Posted Apr 21, 2021
Pins that say I got my COVID-19 vaccine inside the COVID-19 vaccination clinic at DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. The clinic, serving those who are eligible to receive the vaccine, opened as part of a partnership between the Kent County Health Department, Spectrum Health and Mercy Health Saint Mary s. (Cory Morse | MLive.com)Cory Morse | MLive.com
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GRAND RAPIDS, MI New COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations at Spectrum Health remain high, but officials say they’re hopeful the surge peaked last weekend and is now leveling off.
and last updated 2021-04-19 22:31:44-04
MICHIGAN â The number of people in the hospital being treated for COVID19 reached an all-time high on Tuesday.
According to state data, 4,158 patients are hospitalized with confirmed cases of the virus, with 663 patients locally. There are 896 people in the ICU and 530 people are on a ventilator.
While the east side of Michigan is behind much of those numbers, doctors say West Michigan is nowhere in the clear.
âOur trend is still going in that upward direction,â said Dr. Joshua Kooistra, chief medical officer at Spectrum Health West Michigan.
According to Kooistra, Spectrum Health is nearing hospitalization records of their own. Currently there are 314 patients, with about a quarter in the ICU. Last November, the health system hit a high, treating 358 patients.
Grand Rapids Business Journal
Courtesy Spectrum Health
Grand Rapids-based Spectrum Health will expand its network relationship with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan by joining the Blue Cross Medicare Advantage PPO network beginning July 1.
Spectrum Health which is already a network provider for Blue Cross and Blue Care Network commercial plan members, as well as BCN Advantage Medicare plan members will welcome seniors with Blue Cross Medicare Advantage PPO plans to Spectrum Health physician offices and Spectrum Health’s 14 hospital locations in West Michigan.
This will enable Blue Cross members who have existing relationships with Spectrum Health physicians to seamlessly transition from their commercial HMO and PPO coverage to a Blue Cross Medicare Advantage plan.
Delayed care and surge in coronavirus cases overwhelms Michigan hospitals for a third round
Updated 8:15 AM;
Today 8:15 AM
Medical staff work inside Spectrum Health s Emergency Room, near the outdoor coronavirus (COVID-19) triage screening area, at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, March 18, 2020. (Cory Morse | MLive.com)Joel Bissell | MLive.com
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In the COVID-19 unit at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, every day is what nurse Deena Smith describes as “go, go, go constantly.”
As Michigan endures a coronavirus surge that outpaces any other state, medical staff are on their third round of being overwhelmed.
“I do feel like it’s been a little bit more hectic this time, just because it seems like we just have more people with this wave that are sicker,” Smith said. “It can also be that, you know, this is going into the third time that we’ve done this and we are exhausted, we are beat down.”