COVID-19 in Illinois: Weekend Update with Jeff

by Sandra Folarin

Meet IMPACT data analyst Jeff Softcheck! Jeff has been involved in healthcare data, analytics, and administration for nearly 20 years. His mission is to drive better healthcare and performance in his work career. Throughout his work, he commits to using data and clear, honest communication to deliver reliable medical information and gain trust and fellowship. Diagnosed with diabetes at age 10, as well as pulmonary embolisms and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) last February, Jeff heavily empathizes with those living with chronic conditions. He does NOT take his health for granted, much less the COVID-19 pandemic on which he has dutifully analyzed data over the last several months. He firmly believes that leaders need evidence-based information to make informed decisions, given that government affects lives, as we have observed in the past year.

Jeff’s data has given us a clear look inside the COVID-19 trends in Illinois. As of Friday, November 6th, things are way out of control. With an increased bed utilization rate, Illinois no longer has enough beds to keep up with the growth in hospitalizations, which are 98% correlated with the case positivity rate. Overall, there has been a massive growth in the bed utilization metric in the last 4 weeks alone. At one local hospital, the numbers of COVID patients grew from the low teens in early October to nearly 88 patients in a hospital with roughly 300 beds. At this point, Illinois is expected to surpass its ICU bed capacity around Thanksgiving.

This trajectory is not sustainable. As capacity continues to stretch, which we expect to continue for the next two months, more people will die. Deaths are currently projected to peak on December 15th.

Stay vigilant. Stay informed. Stay empathetic. COVID-19 is more than a cold, and it’s bigger than politics. Mask up and save lives.