OCR Text |
Show A-2 The Park Record Continued from A-1 The Park Record. Serving Summit County since 1880 The Park Record, Park City’s No. 1 source for local news, opinion and advertising, is available for home delivery in Summit, Wasatch, Salt Lake, Davis and Utah counties. Single copies are also available at 116 locations throughout Park City, Heber City, Summit County and Salt Lake City. SUBSCRIPTION RATES In Summit County (home delivery): $56 per year (includes Sunday editions of The Salt Lake Tribune) Outside Summit County (home delivery available in Wasatch, Salt Lake, Davis, Weber and Utah counties; all other addresses will be mailed via the U.S. Postal Service): $80 per year To subscribe please call 435–649– 9014 or visit www.parkrecord.com and click the Subscribe link in the Reader Tools section of the toolbar at the bottom of the page. To report a missing paper, please call 801–204–6100. Same-day redelivery is possible if you call during the following hours: * Weekdays: 6:30–8 a.m. * Saturday: 7–8 a.m. * Sunday: 7–10:30 a.m. To request a vacation hold or change of address, please call 435–649–9014 or email: circulation@parkrecord.com Picture may be grim ceive the most seriously ill COVID patients. While the Intermountain system retains capacity to treat patients, a state briefing Thursday indicated how quickly that could change if trends aren’t reversed. “We warned the governor last week that in view of the increase in cases — from 800 to 900, now to 1,200s, 1,500s, today a rolling average of about 1,600 over the last seven days and a daily rate approaching 2,000 — we know that in about seven to 10 days, two weeks, cases will end up in our hospital,” said Greg Bell, the president and CEO of the Utah Hospital Association. He went on to say that hospitals may soon implement the crisis standards of care that have been designed to ensure that finite supplies like drugs and hospital beds are allocated equitably in response to an emergency like a severe earthquake, mass shooting or pandemic. That could mean medical teams deciding which patients will receive care based on factors like age and case severity because there aren’t resources to treat them all. Bell warned that normal medical events will continue to happen even amid the pandemic, the accidents, heart attacks and strokes that in nor- Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, October 31-November 3, 2020 mal times make up approximately 70% to 75% of patients seeking medical care. Dr. Mark Shah, an Intermountain Healthcare emergency physician, discussed steps health care providers have taken to lessen the strain on hospital systems, like expanding athome care, moving patients to create room in COVID-specific hospitals and mandatory overtime for some caregivers. “Despite those best efforts, health care is still finite. These contingency efforts may fall short. They may not meet the demand of patients if this community spread goes unchecked,” Shah said. “... Let’s be frank about what that means. That means that patients — COVID and non-COVID patients — may not have access to the care they normally would because there is simply not enough of it and that means outcomes that we try our hardest to avoid.” Shah said that about 5% of COVID patients typically require hospitalization, and of that cohort, about 20% to 30% require intensive care. As new case numbers spike, health care officials cautioned that means an influx of patients requiring hospitalization in one to two weeks even as the system is rapidly filling now. Shah said the crisis care protocols have been designed with an eye toward equity, so that someone’s race, location or socioeconomic status wouldn’t affect the level of care they receive. In Park City, there have been recent changes to the COVID-19 testing process. Instead of a nasal swab that can cause discomfort as it reaches back into the sinus cavity, tests are now conducted using saliva. And rather than a drive-up clinic, people seeking tests at Park City Hospital are now asked to create an appointment at intermountain.com/covidtesting. Tests are available for people who have one symptom of the disease or who have been exposed to a person who has COVID-19. Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, difficulty breathing, muscle aches and pains, diarrhea, decrease in sense of smell or taste or a sore throat, according to an Intermountain official. Gov. Gary Herbert indicated at the press conference he would attempt to work with the state Legislature to increase testing availability and do away with barriers to testing like symptom requirements. The conference included some of the most dire warnings state officials have offered yet and came on the brink of the holiday season when families traditionally gather indoors in larger groups with people of many ages. In an interview, Province urged restraint this year. “Parties of more than 10 people are a great way to spread COVID, so we are strongly urging people not to have (holiday) parties,” Province said. “... Folks flying in from all over the country - you’re exposing yourself to a lot of potential COVID. ... We’re really worried about the holidays causing a referred to as elective surgeries. “We’re not rationing care now,” said Province. “What we are seeing is if the numbers are continuing to rise and if the public refuses to wear masks and social distance and maintain those groups of no larger than 10 socially, then we may get to that point where we have to ration care.” He said 80% overall hospital utilization is a key number in public health. Any more than that, Province said, and nurse-to-patient ratios can be stretched and wait times and bed availability can be impacted. “The rate of transmission COVID has, not just linear but exponential, can quickly go from 75% (hospital utilization) to 80% to 90% in a matter of days or weeks,” he said. “It’s really staff to beds: We can have as many beds as we want, but if we don’t have nurses, they’re coming down sick, a 60% (hospital utilization) number, a 70% number is a lot more scary.” Province said 20% to 30% of nurses statewide have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and forced to quarantine, putting additional stress on a workforce that has already been asked to do so much. “We’re physically and emotionally fatigued for sure,” he said, adding that morale at the Park City Hospital generally remains high. “I think some folks would like it to be a relay race, hand the baton off to someone else to take it from here, but there’s no one else.” Province stressed the importance of following public health guidelines to maintain capacity in Utah’s hospitals and to help frontline health care workers. He hearkened back to his experiences in New York, and his desire that they not be repeated here. “What I saw there was death and dying everywhere. As an emergency physician, I’m used to that, but not at the scale and level that I saw there,” he said. “Oftentimes, I was the last person that someone saw before they died. Because of the visitors restrictions we had there ... oftentimes I was calling people on Facetime and holding the iPad for those family members to say goodbye to their loved ones. You hang up, you hold their loved one’s hand until you feel them pass and you move on to the next one.” He said caregivers generally don’t resent members of the public for their handling of a disease, pointing out that most people don’t have the training that nurses and doctors do, nor their medical expertise. “What we do find frustrating is when they’re educated but they make it a political issue, refuse to wear masks, spread it to other folks. (That) increases risk we could potentially get it and go home to our families,” he said. “... It’s not a political issue. I took care of just as many Democrats as I did Republicans there.” coronavirus. The mayor told the others PCMR and Deer Valley have an interest in the discussions, but he did not provide details. Large developments are envisioned at the base areas of both of the resorts, with the one at PCMR currently before the Park City Planning Commission and the one at Deer Valley anticipated to be put to the Planning Commission in coming years. Other topics that were mentioned on Thursday included City Councilor Becca Gerber saying Parkites would ride a gondola, City Councilor Max Doilney wondering whether people would choose to take a gondola in the warm-weather months and Beerman acknowledging the projected cost but saying transit in general is expensive. Continued from A-1 virus cases in Utah and nationally. She said the public is also learning about hospital protocols in Utah regarding care for coronavirus patients. “People just don’t want to travel,” she said, adding, “I think it’s the spike we’re seeing.” Sideris said Park City Lodging is crafting a revised marketing plan for the ski season centered on the safety of travel and accommodations. She described that the firm, as an example, uses an electrostatic machine to sanitize properties. The holiday period ends just weeks before the start of Sundance, making it likely the community by early February will have at least an initial understanding of the impact of the sickness on the ski season. City Hall is projecting a steep drop in sales taxes during the winter. The projection is especially notable since sales taxes are charged on such a wide range of transactions and are seen as a key measure of the health of the local economy. lot of spread of this virus.” Bullough is eyeing the upcoming holiday season with trepidation. He said his own family has decided not to gather for Thanksgiving and was considering the same for Christmas. As for Halloween, he advised parents to quarantine candy for 24 to 48 hours before family members eat it and to avoid large gatherings like parties. The actual act of trick-or-treating, however, appears to be relatively safe, he said, as it is outside and costumes make it easy to wear masks. He advised enabling trick-or-treaters to get candy without a large group of people reaching into the same bowl or touching many pieces. The guidance to limit gatherings to 10 people or fewer, Bullough said, is designed to aid contact-tracing efforts and to allow families or close friend groups to continue to gather without large parties that might mix the smaller, more closely related groups of people. But with the holidays approaching, the pandemic entering its eighth month and fatigue growing among the public and health care workers alike, Bullough sounded words of caution. “I think the picture is grim for this winter,” Bullough said. “... For me, I’m genuinely concerned. I don’t want to blow this out of proportion. We need to change our behaviors. We need to take this seriously.” People seeking tests at Intermountain Park City Hospital are now asked to create an appointment at intermountain.com/covidtesting. Tests are available for people who have been exposed to COVID-19 or who have one symptom of the disease. Symptoms include fever, cough, difficulty breathing, muscle aches and pains, diarrhea, decrease in sense of smell or taste or a sore throat. THE NEWSROOM To contact the newsroom, please call 435–649–9014 or email editor@parkrecord.com For display advertising, please call a sales representative at 435–649– 9014 or email val@parkrecord.com To place a classified ad, please call 435–649–9014 or email classads@parkrecord.com For questions about your bill, please call 435–649–9014 or email accounts@parkrecord.com The Park Record online is available at www.parkrecord.com and contains all of the news and feature stories in the latest edition plus breaking news updates. The Record’s website also hosts interactive entertainment, restaurant and lodging listings and multimedia features. Contents of The Park Record are Copyrighted 2015, Wasatch Mountain News Media Co. All rights reserved. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written consent of the managing editor or publisher. The Park Record (USPS 378-730) (ISSN 0745-9483) is published twice weekly by Wasatch Mountain News Media Co., 1670 Bonanza Drive, Park City, UT 84060. Periodicals postage paid at Salt Lake City, Utah, 84199-9655 and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Park Record, P.O. Box 3688, Park City, UT84060. Entered as second-class matter, May 25, 1977, at the Post Office in Park City, Utah, 84060 under the Act of March 3, 1897. Subscription rates are: $56 within Summit county, $80 outside of Summit County, Utah. Subscriptions are transferable: $5 cancellation fee. Phone: 435–649–9014 Continued from A-1 Experience harrowing it that. The state’s epidemiologist has had moments of public exasperation. As of Friday, more than 75% of the state’s intensive care unit beds are filled with patients, according to the Summit County Health Director. Despite recent warnings that health care systems in the state are preparing to ration care, Province said the Intermountain Healthcare system continues to have capacity to care for patients, and that officials are not curtailing services or canceling what are Continued from A-1 Olympic gondola lift? Boulevard and Bonanza Drive. The total capital cost is estimated to reach nearly $64.2 million, while the projected operations and maintenance cost is estimated at nearly $3.6 million on an annual basis. The numbers are notable at a time of financial uncertainty amid the economic turmoil caused by the spread of the novel Fax: 435–649–4942 Email: circulation@parkrecord.com Published every Wednesday and Saturday Cancellations concerning the time between Christmas and New Year’s is usually one of the busiest stretches of the ski season as families gather to celebrate on the slopes. The Christmas-to-New Year’s period stands with the Sundance Film Festival and the extended Presidents Day weekend as traditionally especially busy and lucrative times for the Park City tourism industry. Sideris said the people who are canceling reservations are telling Park City Lodging they are worried about the recent increases in corona- Direct Importer of the World’s Finest Rugs A t t h e H i s t o r i c Vi l l a T h e a t r e Count On Us - People Banking With People You can count on Grand Valley Bank as together we navigate through these challenging times. You can depend on our steady and locally grounded excellent service. 3092 So. Highland Dr., Salt Lake City (801)484-6364 888.445.RUGS (7847) Mon.-Sat. 10 am to 6 pm Call Us Today 435-615-2265 1225 Deer Valley Dr. Park City grandvalleybank.com |