Navajoland doctor says supplies and manpower critically needed, National Guard failed to deliver
The National Guard sent press releases about how it set up a "federal medical station" in Chinle, Arizona and how it's providing assistance to the Navajo Nation. But what they failed to share is that they basically delivered a kit to set up a hurricane-like shelter in an existing structure that is too far away from the hospital to serve as medical overflow, and only has a couple of restrooms, NO staff, and no essential medical supplies.
A plea from the Navajo Nation from both Indian Health Service (IHS) and tribally run hospitals, of which there are only a handful serving an area the size of West Virginia.
Many are feeling alone on the Navajo Nation right now, especially in the remote community of Chilchenbito, which is essentially on lockdown due to the major outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19. As a public health physician living in this area for the past 8 years, I am part of the Epi Response Team and have already witnessed the terrible impact this virus has had, and it’s only just the beginning.
It is rapidly spreading to surrounding communities, mostly due to a multi-church gathering that occurred in Chilchenbito in early March, and the handful of emergency rooms on the Reservation are already overwhelmed with people presenting in respiratory distress. Many are being intubated, stabilized, and flown out to tertiary care centers scattered across Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado; but some are also dying at home or shortly after arrival to the ER, and not being tested at all because we don’t have a system in place for post-mortem testing. General testing is also not widespread, so the true numbers are grossly underestimated. Our tertiary care centers in the surrounding states are filling up fast - likely reaching capacity by next week - and we will have to keep these incredibly sick patients at our facilities on the Rez, without enough critical care nurses or PPE. We have smart doctors and nurses here and we are actively surge planning: designing respiratory care units in existing spaces and purchasing more ventilators (that are on backorder), but it’s just not going to be enough.
I want to share why the Navajo Nation, is so incredibly vulnerable to this virus (and pretty much every communicable disease in existence):
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2020/04/navajoland-doctor-says-supplies-and.html
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