Health

Idaho has emerged from its latest bout with crisis standards of care

Idaho Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen announced Tuesday that Idaho hospitals are no longer in severe crisis

By: Audrey Dutton - February 15, 2022 3:00 pm

Photo of Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise

Boise’s Saint Alphonsus hospital is the trauma center for the region. Its emergency department, medical units and ICU have been strained at many points during the pandemic. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun)

Idaho Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen announced Tuesday that Idaho hospitals are no longer in a severe crisis, which necessitated a move into crisis standards of care three weeks ago.

Jeppesen re-activated the care-rationing protocol on Jan. 24, due to combination of COVID-19 hospitalizations, staffing shortages in hospitals and in long-term care facilities, and a shortage of blood supplies.

Since Jan. 24, Idaho has reported at least:

43,570 new cases of COVID-19
1,604 patients with COVID-19 admitted to hospitals
179 deaths related to the coronavirus

The latest activation wasn’t statewide. It applied only to Southwest Idaho and South Central Idaho.

Jeppesen on Sept. 6 activated crisis standards for North Idaho and then, 10 days later, for the entire state. That crisis sent thousands of people to the hospital with COVID-19 and overwhelmed the ability of hospitals to care for people quickly and in the normal settings.

That crisis lasted more than two months for the entire state, and more than three months for the Panhandle region.

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Audrey Dutton

Audrey Dutton, senior investigative reporter, joined the Idaho Capital Sun after 10 years at the Idaho Statesman. Her favorite topics to cover include health care, business, consumer protection issues and white collar crime. Before coming home to Idaho, Dutton worked as a journalist in Minnesota, New York, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Dutton's work has earned dozens of state, regional and national awards for investigative reporting, health care and business reporting, data visualization and more.