COVID, RSV Contributing to Pandemic-Record Hospitalizations

Hospitalizations linked to COVID-19 continue to grow in Colorado, according to the latest data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment — and capacity issues at state medical facilities are being compounded by the rise of other respiratory illnesses, including RSV and the flu.

During the week ending November 15, 94 percent of Colorado’s acute-care hospital beds — 6,453 of 6,901 — were in use. That matches the highest percentage during the entire COVID-19 pandemic, last hit in November and December of 2021.

Here are the CDPHE numbers from November 16 in major COVID categories:

1,688,829 cases
70,554 hospitalized
13,506 deaths among cases
14,224 deaths due to COVID-19
10,087 outbreaks

More specific details, juxtaposed with November 9 statistics shared in our previous COVID-19 roundup:

Cases reported this week: 7,550, up 1,069 (6,413, up 1,396, on November 9)
Cases reported for previous weeks: 243 (226 cases on November 9)
Seven-day positivity rate: 12.6 percent (11.7 percent on November 9)
Currently hospitalized: 379, up 59 (320, up 102, on November 9)
New hospital admissions: 598, up 91 (509, up 131, on November 9)

Four takeaways:

• Over the past month or so, the official new case count has been increasing by close to 10 percent each week, even though most infected individuals now use home tests whose results aren’t reported to the CDPHE. The increase on November 9, however, was just over 14 percent, and the number on November 16 went over 15 percent.

• New COVID-19 fatalities are slightly higher than they were seven days earlier in one category, and alarmingly so in a second. Deaths among people with COVID totaled 41 on November 16 versus 37 on November 9. But deaths directly attributed to the disease more than tripled, from 17 last week to 53 on November 16.

• On November 9, the state’s seven-day-average positivity rate hit 12.6 percent — the worst in months, and well above the 5 percent mark that the CDPHE prefers not to exceed.

• The number of people currently hospitalized for COVID-19 jumped from 320 to 379 over the past week, with new hospital admissions climbing from 509 to 598 over that same span. Meanwhile, the CDPHE calculated 314 RSV hospitalizations, including 285 children, during the week of November 12. The seventy new hospitalizations for the flu during that period, as well as the myriad other reasons people require admission on a daily basis, are also depleting the number of available acute-care beds in the state.

On November 11, Governor Jared Polis amended his executive order related to COVID-19 to include RSV, the flu and other respiratory illnesses.

Outbreaks are also popping up at an elevated rate. Weekly additions to the CDPHE roster had dropped to the thirties throughout the late summer and early fall, but catapulted to 66 on November 9. The November 16 total came in at fifty — and, as usual, most of the sites are health-care facilities that specialize in senior care.

Here are the fifty new or tweaked outbreaks identified by the CDPHE on November 16, including information about categories, county of origin, and the date when the spread was officially recognized. The department no longer provides details regarding the overall number of infections or deaths, or whether they pertain to residents, staff members or attendees.

1. Aspen Ridge Alzheimer’s Special Care Center (23W376): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Mesa County, 11/14/2022
2. Belmont Lodge Healthcare Center (020619): November 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, Pueblo County, 11/2/2022
3. Briarwood Health Care Center (020470): November 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, Denver County, 11/8/2022
4. Brookdale Boulder Creek (2303QF): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Boulder County, 11/15/2022
5. Brookdale Longmont (2303JU): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Boulder County, 11/15/2022
6. Brookdale Pinehurst Park (2304CA): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Denver County, 11/10/2022
7. Brookshire House Rehabilitation and Care Community (020403): November 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, Denver County, 11/15/2022
8. Centennial Correctional Facility: November 2022, State Prison, Fremont County, 11/9/2022
9. Chateau At Sharmar Assisted Living (2306N1): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Pueblo County, 11/14/2022
10. Collinwood Assisted Living (2303UO): October 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Larimer County, 11/4/2022
11. Colorow Health Care LLC (021154): November 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, Montrose County, 11/8/2022
12. Devonshire Acres Skilled Nursing (020193): November 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, Logan County, 11/10/2022
13. Eben Ezer Lutheran Care Center Assisted Living (230109): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Morgan, 11/15/2022
14. Flourish Supportive Living At 63RD (231B3R), Healthcare, Assisted Living, Jefferson County, 11/14/2022
15. Frasier Meadows Manor Inc. Assisted Living Center (23J640): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Boulder County, 11/10/2022
16. Friendship House at the Home (23C967): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Fremont County, 11/10/2022
17. Good Samaritan Society — Loveland Village (020366): November 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, Larimer County, 11/15/2022
18. Harvard Square Memory Care (23Z783): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Denver County, 11/9/2022
19. Highline Rehabilitation and Care Community (020437): November 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, Denver County, 11/10/2022
20. Horizons Care Center (021111): November 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, Delta County, 10/28/2022
21. Hyland Hills Senior Living (23B428): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Adams County, 11/10/2022
22. Kinnick Center RTF (2303FH): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Weld County, 11/14/2022
23. Kiowa Hills Health and Rehabilitation Center (020559): November 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, El Paso County, 11/9/2022
24. Lamar Estates, LLC (020201): November 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, Prowers County, 11/4/2022
25. Larchwood Inns (0211OZ): November 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, Mesa County, 11/4/2022
26. Life Care Center of Aurora (0204F6): November 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, Arapahoe County, 11/10/2022
27. Life Care Center of Evergreen (020490): November 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, Jefferson County, 11/4/2022
28. Linden Place Health and Rehabilitation Center (020375): November 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, Boulder County, 11/9/2022
29. MorningStar at Bear Creek (23S293): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, El Paso County, 11/4/2022
30. MorningStar at Jordan (23E528): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Arapahoe County, 11/14/2022
31. MorningStar of Arvada (23T231): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Jefferson County, 11/9/2022
32. MorningStar of Boulder (23F542): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Boulder County, 11/14/2022
33. MorningStar of Fort Collins (23A846): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, 11/8/2022
34. MorningStar of Parker (23X291): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Douglas County, 11/15/2022
35. Namaste Alzheimer Center (020518): October 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, El Paso County, 11/1/2022
36. North Shore Health & Rehab Facility (020331): November 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, Larimer County, 11/10/2022
37. Salvation Army — Harbor Lights: November 2022, Homeless Shelter, Denver County, 11/14/2022
38. Springbrooke Retirement and Assisted Living (2304I0): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Denver County, 11/15/2022
39. Spruce House (23C703): October 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, El Paso County, 10/25./2022
40. St. Paul Health Center (020448): November 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, Denver County, 11/14/2022
41. Starpoint Children’s Services: November 2022, Child Care Center, Fremont County, 11/14/2022
42. Sterling Health and Rehabilitation Center (020165): November 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, Logan County, 11/15/2022
43. Stonecreek of Flying Horse (23P651): October 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, El Paso County, 11/2/2022
44. The Bridge at Alamosa (23Y773): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Alamosa County, 11/14/2022
45. The Legacy at Monte Vista (2310NW): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Rio Grande County, 11/14/2022
46. The Vineyards Memory Care (23S295): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Mesa County, 11/10/2022
47. Valley House Assisted Living (2305HL): November 2022, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Douglas County, 11/10/2022
48. Villa Manor Care Center (020451): November 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, Jefferson County, 11/9/2022
49. Vista View Care Center (02R315): September 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, Adams County, 9/22/2022
50. Westlake Care Community (020427): November 2022, Healthcare, Nursing Facility, Jefferson County, 11/10/2022