Near Crisis, Some Hospitals Face Tough Decisions In Caring For Floods Of Patients

Far more people in the U.S. are hospitalized for COVID-19 now than at any other moment of the coronavirus pandemic — more than twice as many as just a month ago.

Hospitals in some of the hardest-hit states are exhausting every health care worker, hospital room and piece of equipment to evade the worst-case scenario, when crisis plans have to be set in motion and care may have to be rationed.

Many states are warning they're on the brink. On the ground, equipment and staff shortages are already straining the system and changing how hospitals provide care. An NPR data analysis supports what health care leaders and researchers have cautioned: This stress may even be contributing to higher death rates.

We accept a small amount of risk each time that we expand our capacities," says Dr., a of the Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Disasters and Emergencies of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. "It's not at all unexpected that we're