MIAMI (WSVN) - As Florida reports thousands of new coronavirus cases on a daily basis, a doctor at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami said they are now at full capacity.
Dr. Mark Supino, an emergency medicine physician at JMH, spoke in an interview with CNN on Saturday about the challenges he and his staff face every day in treating COVID-19 patients.
“I have to really admit to you, it’s been a challenging moment for all of us,” he said,
“It’s really difficult to try and look forward to much, because the situation is so unpredictable,” he said, “so we’re taking it day by day and holding each other up.”
With thousands of new cases surging in South Florida, Supino said JMH cannot accept any more intensive care unit patients at the moment.
“We’ve opened parts of the hospital that were not previously receiving patients. We’ve converted those areas into full capacity patient care areas. We have expanded our ICU capabilities,” he said.
Supino’s interview aired hours after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced some promising news during a press conference in St. Augustine.
He said the state will soon receive 30,000 vials of remdesivir, an experimental drug that’s had success in treating patients infected with the virus.
“That’s probably about 5,000 to 6,000 additional patients, and so we want to make sure that the physicians have what they need to be able to prescribe for their patients,” he said. “I think it’s shortened hospital stays.”
Although many patients are able to make a full recovery, Supino said, the virus does not discriminate and can cause a lot of damage.
“We do know that older individuals with more medical issues tend to get sicker, but this is not an absolute, and it really has run the gamut,” he said.
On Saturday, Miami-Dade County officials announced there is now a “help line” that residents who need temporary hotel rooms to isolate during the pandemic can call for assistance. That number is 305-614-1716, and it is available between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily.
Anyone with questions and concerns about the coronavirus can call the Florida Department of Health’s 24-hour hotline at 1-866-779-6121.
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