A severely ill COVID-19 patient in Florida was flown to Connecticut in August to receive a lifesaving treatment known as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation after 169 hospitals in the Southeast turned him away because their beds were filled with other COVID-19 patients, CNN reported Sept. 19.
Robby Walker, 52, was placed on a ventilator July 25 after developing COVID-19 pneumonia in both lungs. He had not been vaccinated. Physicians told Mr. Walker's family that his chances of survival were low, especially since availability for ECMO, a last-resort treatment for COVID-19 patients, was extremely scarce amid Florida's surge.
ECMO entails using a machine to pump and oxygenate a patient's blood outside the body, allowing the heart and lungs to rest. Less than 10 percent of hospitals nationwide offer the treatment, as it requires expensive equipment and specially trained staff to provide one-on-one care and constant monitoring. Demand for ECMO has far exceeded hospitals' ability to provide the therapy during the latest surge, spurring many hospitals to make difficult decisions about which patients should receive treatment.
Mr. Walker's family called 169 hospitals across the Southeast, all of which said they were unable to admit him for ECMO treatment.
His wife Susan appeared on CNN in August to tell Mr. Walker's story, and the segment was seen by Robert Gallagher, MD, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Trinity Health of New England in Hartford, Conn. The health system, which still had ECMO availability, helped coordinate Mr. Walker's 1,200-mile transfer via a medical flight.
Mr. Walker, a father of six, spent 22 days receiving ECMO treatment at the system's St. Francis Hospital in Hartford and is now undergoing physical therapy as part of his recovery.
Mrs. Walker said her husband's ordeal has inspired at least 60 family members, friends and colleagues to get vaccinated.