Two brothers receive the COVID-19 vaccine at the Blood Bank of Alaska in Anchorage. Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
Alaska activated crisis standards of care for 20 of the state's health care facilities Saturday, as it continues to deal with a surge in COVID-19 cases, the state's Department of Health and Social Services announced Saturday.
Why it matters: The move will allow the facilities to begin rationing medical care as needed. Alaska has seen the worst coronavirus diagnosis rates in the country recently, per AP.
State of play: Alaska has experienced a scarcity of medical resources, staffing shortages and has found it difficult to transfer patients to different facilities due to a lack of available hospital beds, per a press release.
The big picture: Alaska's COVID-19 case count has increased 72% in the past two weeks, per NBC News.
- "If Alaska were a country, it would be the nation with the world’s highest per-capita case rate," Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski warned on Friday.
Several of the 20 facilities had already instituted crisis protocols.
- A triage committee at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage — the state's largest hospital — has been forced to make decisions about how to ration care, per the Wall Street Journal.
Other states have struggled to provide care to patients during the pandemic.
- Idaho began rationing medical care at 10 of its overburdened hospitals in September.
- A Montana veterans medical facility is planning to accept non-veteran patients as a COVID-19 surge overwhelms nearby hospitals.