A woman with a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition trying to time her visits to the emergency department so she won't have to wait hours for care, potentially exposing her to COVID.

A young man facing 60 patients ahead of him while waiting for his leg to be set.

Patients in beds in the hallways of a local hospital.

This is the reality in Minnesota's hospitals today.

We have to be blunt, as this is a crisis: Because of the number of COVID cases in our Minnesota hospitals right now, we are unable to provide timely care in the event of an emergency like a stroke or heart attack, car accident or other critical injury.

Right now in our state, health systems are on the brink of collapse:

  • Emergency department waits are lasting many hours, and even days.
  • Critical surgeries and procedures are delayed sometimes by weeks, or being canceled.
  • Patients cannot be admitted to the hospital because there are no staffed beds.
  • Urgency care centers are full for the day by 8 a.m., or simply closed in some cases.

As physicians, we are horrified as we watch patients suffer because we do not have the capacity to care for them. Unfortunately, the situation is worsening rapidly. We fearfully await the coming wave of illness from omicron, and the inevitable post-holiday surge of infections. We know this means even more ill or injured Minnesotans will surely go without timely care.

Our mothers, sons, daughters and friends may face a life-threatening situation in the next few weeks. We cannot guarantee we will be able to help them in time. The situation is that bad, and we desperately need everyone's help.

We can all be at risk of spreading the virus without even knowing it, despite being vaccinated and boosted. But we have some control over that and here's the good news: as Minnesotans, we know how to take care of each other.

To help, we need to once again step up our safety practices including:

  • Wearing a mask anytime we are indoors.
  • Encouraging family and friends to wear masks.
  • Getting tested for COVID before getting together with family, and particularly with those who are unvaccinated or at greater risk.
  • Requiring vaccination or a negative test (within 24 hours) for anyone joining a family gathering.

It is not the time to place blame, or argue over vaccine facts and figures. It is the time to sound the alarm and do everything we can to stem the tide of this virus.

Physicians, nurses and other health care professionals are working around the clock to keep our patients and community healthy this holiday season, but we can't do it alone. We need every Minnesotan to step up our safety practices as we head into yet another critical period of the pandemic. Your actions may very well save someone's life.

Zeke McKinney is president-elect and Ryan Greiner is immediate past-president, Twin Cities Medical Society.