In the News
Low bed capacity grows wait times at NMC; Staff shortages, high demand stress statewide system
Saint Albans Messenger

Wait times for inpatient care at Northwestern Medical Center have ballooned, and interim CEO Jonathan Billings is asking for people to be patient.

Essentially, Vermont’s medical system just doesn’t have the capacity for the increased demand that began to affect hospitals across the state after 2020, and it will take some time before the statewide system can adjust accordingly, Billings said.

As a result, wait times for inpatient care have increased to one to two hours in some cases as physicians deal with an increased load.

“As folks head to their primary care office, we ask them to be patient with offices,” Billings said. “It may well be an hour or two hour wait depending on the situation. We apologize for that, but at some point, it’s just a math issue.”
A checkup of Vermont’s health care system as regulators consider community needs
WCAX

Experts got together in Rutland on Monday to chip away at some of the community’s most pressing problems inside and outside the hospital.

The pandemic may be in the rearview for many Vermonters but providers in Rutland staff say it has fundamentally changed the way our health care system works.

It’s a challenging time to be in health care.

“More patients who are much sicker than we had in the past and that’s difficult,” said Dr. Todd Gregory, the chief medical officer at the Rutland Regional Medical Center.

Leaders at the Rutland Regional Medical Center say many Vermonters are coming to the emergency room with chronic conditions and mental health challenges. The hospital is filled to the brim, partly because patients well enough to need less care have nowhere to go.
Vermont’s Covid levels remain ‘low’ as new wave begins nationwide
VTDigger

Vermont’s Covid-19 levels are “low,” according to the state Department of Health’s weekly surveillance report.

The weekly update comes amid a national rise in Covid cases and hospitalizations, according to The New York Times. Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York have all reported a rise in Covid levels, particularly in the Long Island region.

Omicron subvariants B.Q.1 and B.Q.1.1 have become the dominant strains nationwide and in New England, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experts believe the strains are more effective at evading previous immunity to Covid than other subvariants.
Scientists say they know why people get more colds, flu in winter
WCAX

Cold and flu season is here, but germs that cause colds are in the air year-round.

So why do people seem to get sick more in winter?

A new study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology may have the answer, and it may sound disappointingly simple.

Colds are caused by the cold - cold weather that is - and the effect it has on your nose.

According to the study, the chilly air damages the immune response in the nostrils.

In fact, reducing the temperature by as little as 9 degrees inside the nose kills nearly half of its virus and bacteria-fighting cells.

Medical experts are calling the finding a scientific breakthrough.

According to one doctor, “This is the first time that we have a biologic, molecular explanation regarding one factor of our innate immune response that appears to be limited by colder temperatures.”
Hospitals in the News
From our Hospitals
Dr. William A. Knorr: Feeling the holidays
For many of us, the chill of fall and the yellows, reds and oranges of foliage signal the upcoming holidays and the feelings of joy that coincide with family, friends and traditions. It is a time to reflect, give thanks and gather with loved ones.

Also for many, there is a sense of despair, hopelessness, sadness and even depression. These negative feelings don’t necessarily signal a slide into depression and a need for mental health services. But sometimes, these sad feelings are paired with persistent negative thinking patterns and lead to hopelessness and suicidal thinking — signaling a need for help from mental health service providers.

Some examples of these negative thinking pattern chains are as follows: “I hate the holidays.” “I have no friends and no family.” “Nobody loves me.” “No one invites me to a holiday dinner or holiday party.” “No one cares for me.” “Nothing ever works out for me.” “I am always alone.” “I might as well be dead.”
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