BEAUMONT, Texas — Just because people are out of the hospital, it doesn't mean they're out of the woods. For some long haulers, coronavirus symptoms continue.
Lack of resources and staffing shortages have made it difficult for hospitals across the country to provide care for COVID-19 patients even after they've been discharged.
COVID-19 has left many people in hospital beds fighting for their lives.
“We had a lot of deaths,” said Joshua Schoonfield, a case manager with Mid-Jefferson Extended Care.
Lack of resources, PPE, and staffing shortages this past year left hospitals like Mid-Jefferson Extended Care overwhelmed.
“At this facility, we received eight med surge RN's along with 6 respiratory therapists that were provided from the state and that enabled us to care for we were maxed out every day with 25 patients,” said Nikki Robin, chief executive officer at Mid-Jefferson Extended Care.
But the problem doesn't end when COVID-19 patients are stable and discharged.
“There is a population that did suffer from the virus, and we continue to see some of those coming back through the hospital systems,” Robin said.
Most COVID-19 patients are suffering long-term effects.
“They have scarring in the lungs. They're going home with oxygen neb treatments, young patients,” Schoonfield said.
This requires additional treatment like physical therapy, medication plans, and another rehab.
“They've had patients go home and regress because they're not doing what they're proper follow-up-care is whether that's properly taking medication prescribed refusing physical therapy,” Schoonfield said.
Discharge can be scary for most patients.
“It's almost like they have PTSD,” Schoonfield said.
And regardless of the obstacles hospitals have faced, Mid-Jefferson Extended Care has made it easier for those patients with their treatment plans
“You just have to be their biggest cheerleader pretty much if they're scared, you gotta root them on,” Schoonfield said.
Mid-Jefferson Extended Care has had many success stories
“We did end up at some point discharging her over to an inpatient rehab. She’s home. She’s walking, talking. She had a feeding tube that has been taken out she’s thriving doing very well,” Schoonfield said.
Only four COVID-19 patients are in Mid-Jefferson Extended Care right now, making it easier to keep up with other patient's long-term aftercare
The additional staff Mid-Jefferson Extended Care received from the state will be released at the end of October. They said if you’ve been hospitalized with COVID-19, make sure to stay consistent with your aftercare to avoid any more long-term effects and to remain living a life of normalcy.