UW Medicine’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) reports on our ability to maintain normal operations using a scale from “monitoring” to “high level of activation” based on information about community transmission rates, hospital admissions, staffing capacity, space availability, PPE supplies and other impacts on the health system.
This update provides a quick look at some of the key data used by the EOC to determine UW Medicine’s current level of activation. For more detailed information, you can review the EOC’s situation status reports.
EOC Level of Activation
May 17, 2022: The EOC is at a Low-Mid Level of Activation. COVID-19 patients represent 3.63% of hospital admissions. UW Medicine hospitals are caring for 43 patients with COVID-19. As of yesterday, 211 employees were on leave due to COVID-19 isolation and quarantine.
UW Medicine COVID-19 Inpatients
Daily Capacity Data Report
The Daily Capacity Data Report shows the total occupancy and the number of COVID-19 patients at each hospital.
Employees Out of Office Due to COVID-19
This chart shows the number of employees on leave due to COVID-19 isolation and quarantine on representative days between December 28, 2021, and May 16, 2022.
King County and Washington State Epidemiology
King County: Public Health – Seattle & King County is reporting 413,110 cases and 2,773 deaths as of May 16. The number of new cases over the last seven days is currently at 327.7 per 100,000 people.
Washington: The Department of Health reports 1,538,228 total cases and 12,812 deaths as of May 15.
EOC Priorities
EOC Level of Activation (New): The EOC remains at the low-mid level of activation based on the hospital census for COVID-19 patients, which has increased but is still below 5% of the total hospital census. At the same time, the EOC is closely monitoring the increasing transmission rates in King County and the continued impact on staffing from employees who are on isolation and quarantine. For reference, the seven-day rate of new cases per 100,000 people in King County has increased from 50.5 on March 21 to 327.7 today.
COVID-19 Overview Summary Report (New): A new report in the patient’s Epic chart gives their care team a quick view of their vaccination history, SARS CoV-2/COVID test results, and other information related to care for COVID-19.
Vaccine Clinics and Boosters (Status Update): UW Medical Center – Northwest closed its mass vaccination site on May 16. The Food & Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11 at least five months after completion of the primary vaccine series. We are monitoring an Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting on May 19 and approval from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention prior to offering at UW Medicine clinics.
Stay Informed
In the Media:
- How omicron infection turbo-charges vaccinated people’s immunity, David Veesler and Alexandra Walls, Biochemistry, Bloomberg
- Doctors say COVID re-infections stem from waning immunity, Pavitra Roychoudhury, Laboratory Medicine, KOMO
- Americans must not ‘grow numb,’ Biden says, as U.S. marks 1 million Covid deaths, Dr. Chris Murray, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, NBC
Ongoing communications:
- Emergency Operations Updates: Scheduled for Tuesdays.
- Dr. John Lynch COVID-19 Update: Scheduled for Thursdays every two weeks.
- Town Halls: Generally scheduled for 3 p.m. on Fridays; Check your email for announcements (recordings available).
- Community Conversations: Check your email for dates and times (recordings available).
- EOC Situation Reports: Posted on the UW Medicine intranet (AMC login required).
- Leadership Messages and Employee Resources: Posted on The Huddle.
Sincerely,
UW Medicine Leadership
