Ten hospitals in north central Idaho and the panhandle have been authorized to operate under crisis standards of care since Monday, when Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene asked the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare for the designation after weeks of being overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.

The crisis standards of care designation allows hospitals to operate with higher nurse-to-patient ratios and helps providers determine the order in which patients get limited resources. It also means that some patients are being treated in makeshift patient care centers set up in classrooms or conference rooms.

On Thursday, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen told Idaho Reports that the rest of the state could see crisis standards of care very soon.

Doctors from hospitals around the state told Idaho Reports they continue to see a wave of COVID-19 patients, most of them unvaccinated, and it is affecting their ability to care for other patients.

If you missed our half-hour special, The Consequences of Crisis Care, you can catch it online at idahoptv.org/idahoreports.