This Tri-Cities hospital led WA state in COVID patient admissions

Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland at one time was admitting the most COVID-19 patients of any hospital in the state, according to the Washington State Hospital Association.

It was busy with not only Tri-Cities area cases but taking overflow patients from Wenatchee, Yakima and rural communities in the region.

The hospital was “an absolute model over the summer” for accepting transfer patients, said Cassie Sauer, chief executive of the association, at a statewide news conference Monday.

The hospital, which serves as a regional referral center in Eastern Washington, has admitted more than 1,600 patients for COVID-19 treatment since the start of the pandemic, said Reza Kaleel, Kadlec’s chief executive.

The hospital did not run short of ventilators and did not often run out of beds. But at times having enough staff available limited the number of transfer patients it could admit and safely care for, he said.

Washington was the first state in the nation to have a statewide commitment among hospitals not to let any hospital reach a crisis point if other hospitals could help, Sauer said.

It kept Washington state from having the sorts of news coverage seen in other states, she said.

COVID patients elsewhere were shown outside hospitals or lined up in hallways, and emergency medical services were not transporting patients for lack of hospital space.

The hospital association did not immediately know what hospital is the busiest now with patients infected with the coronavirus.

Hospital admissions at Kadlec are coming down, after peaking in the summer and then seeing another increase after the November and December holidays, Kaleel said.

Monday morning, Kadlec was treating 14 patients for COVID-19, down from a peak of 60 in the summer.

Fourteen was the lowest COVID patient count in a long time, with counts in the 20s more typical in recent weeks, Kaleel said.

Continuing challenges

Kadlec is the largest of the four hospitals in Benton and Franklin counties and has had the most COVID patients.

Kadlec continues to face challenges, Kaleel said.

The pandemic has exacerbated mental health and substance abuse issues in the community, he said. At the same time caregivers more than a year into the pandemic are struggling with burnout, he said.

Kadlec and other hospital staffs also are facing different stresses among employees, he said.

Working directly with COVID patients and their families takes an emotional toll on some workers, he said. But others may have had their hours cut and face financial struggles, he said.

Kadlec hospital admissions are down some from the previous year, but the patients it is treating are much sicker, he said.

Emergency department visits also are down, but a greater percentage of people coming to the emergency department are sick enough to need to be admitted to the hospital, he said.

COVID vaccine

Kadlec also has been on the front lines in administering COVID vaccine.

It has given 12,370 shots, including first doses and second booster doses, Kaleel said.

Although Kadlec operates Kadlec Senior Clinic in south Richland and an oncology clinic at the Tri-Cities Cancer Center, those patients are not given preferential signups for vaccine appointments.

The hospital is concerned that vaccines are distributed equitably and inclusively, with no favoritism, he said.

But it is working with the Benton Franklin Health District to provide help with future vaccination clinics that public health officials believe are needed.

When Kadlec vaccine clinic appointments become available, they are posted on Kadlec’s Facebook page and fill almost immediately.