Henry Ford Health System sees some good news on COVID-19 hospitalizations

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Henry Ford Health System is delivering a bit of hopeful news as it is reporting a decrease in COVID-19 hospitalizations and a slowing infection rate.

In an update on Wednesday, Henry Ford said its Covid positivity rate dropped 10 points to 33%. It is still facing some staffing issues and has 77 beds temporarily closed but its hospital staff out with Covid has dropped to 470, down from nearly 800 a week ago.

"I’m really happy to report that we are starting - I want to emphasize starting - to see a trend that we hope will continue." said Bob Riney with HFHS.

Since Monday, the number of patients hospitalized with Covid went from about 550 to below 500. The health system emphasizes how much vaccination and boosters can help to reduce this number. According to the Henry Ford Health System, more than 90 percent of people in the hospital for Covid did not get a booster shot.

"Once you complete your original series of vaccines, be sure to get your booster shot." Riney said.

The American Hospital Association reports nurse staffing demands are up 245 percent through the pandemic and many have left healthcare altogether at record rates. Job vacancies across the country are up as they are at Henry Ford, which, system-wide has about 1000 RN positions to fill.

Riney is urging people to recognize the effort the men and women on the frontline are putting in.

"If you have a loved one or you yourself are being cared for by a healthcare worker or you cross paths for a healthcare worker, not just a HFHS care worker but any care worker, please, please be sure to tell them how much you appreciate them," Riney said.

This situation is, of course, not unique to Michigan as healthcare overall is facing severe staff shortage but Henry Ford Health West Bloomfield Hospital President Eric Wallis said help is coming.

"We’re making some really great progress on an effort to recruit nurses in the Phillipines and we're hopeful that we'll have our very first group of nurses joining as early as this summer," Wallis said.

But they're also looking to recruit more hires locally with billboards going up in the area to attract talent.

"While we talk a lot about the number of folks who’ve left the nursing workforce through the pandemic, we’re almost seeing record numbers enrolled in schools because they’ve seen the value of nursing," Wallis said.

They're also partnering with Michigan State University to bring nursing students, including some who are already doing clinical rotations. The health group said they're also providing incentives to keep nurses on board.