{"id":36501,"date":"2020-12-06T09:48:41","date_gmt":"2020-12-06T16:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=36501"},"modified":"2024-05-13T09:29:24","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T15:29:24","slug":"more-covid-19-patients-are-surviving-now-as-care-therapies-improve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/more-covid-19-patients-are-surviving-now-as-care-therapies-improve\/","title":{"rendered":"More COVID-19 patients are surviving now as care, therapies improve"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Coloradans are enduring the toughest chapter of the COVID-19 pandemic so far with hospitalizations now reaching nearly double the number compared to the highest peak during the first wave of infections in the spring.<\/p>\n

During this challenging time, there\u2019s one glimmer of hope. Patients who become critically ill with COVID-19 are surviving at significantly higher rates.<\/p>\n

About 94% of people who have had to be hospitalized with COVID-19 at UCHealth\u2019s 12 hospitals are surviving this fall compared with about 87.5% in the spring. Patients with COVID-19 who must be hospitalized now also are able to stay a shorter time \u2014 on average about 6 days now, compared to an average of about 11 days in the spring.<\/p>\n

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COVID-19 survivor Robert Carver rings a bell as he leaves the hospital. Source: UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really amazing how in a very short time we\u2019ve been able to have that much of an impact,\u201d said Dr. Michelle Barron<\/a>, one of the leading infectious disease experts in Colorado<\/a> and senior medical director of infection prevention and control at UCHealth.<\/p>\n

Barron attributes the better survival rates to improved medications and providers who have learned quickly how to better care for COVID-19 patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what\u2019s different? We do a lot of things very differently. Some of it is medications and treatments. But, a lot of it is the up-front treatment that we know how to do better now, even simple things: like for people who are having difficulty breathing, having them lie on their bellies to include oxygenation\u2026and putting people on high-flow oxygen,\u201d said Barron, who is also a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine<\/a> on the Anschutz Medical Campus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Barron provided an update on the pandemic during a virtual panel discussion on Friday hosted by Donald Elliman<\/a>, chancellor of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Barron also credited a high degree of cooperation among hospital systems around the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s one hospital that is getting overwhelmed and doesn\u2019t have the ability to care for someone, then these patients can then be transferred to a different hospital\u2026so they can get the care they need,\u201d Barron said.<\/p>\n

Barron and other public health experts are warning that both hospitalizations and the number of infected people in Colorado could rise in the coming days. After every holiday throughout the pandemic, cases have spiked. These surges typically lead to increases in both infections and hospitalizations about two weeks after each holiday since it typically takes about 14 days from the exposure date for those who become critically ill with COVID-19 to need hospital care. The two-week mark after Thanksgiving hits on Dec. 10.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a snapshot of where Colorado stands now, based on COVID-19 data from the State of Colorado<\/a> and modeling reports<\/a> from the Colorado School of Public Health<\/a> and the team of experts who are providing data and forecasts to Gov. Jared Polis and leaders at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment:<\/p>\n