Overwhelmed hospitals give you a clue into an important metric

According to a report from NPR on December 9, 2020, the federal government on Monday released detailed hospital-level data showing the toll COVID-19 is taking on health care facilities, including how many inpatient and ICU beds are available on a weekly basis.

Just how overwhelmed are the hospitals across America?

Below is a snapshot of an interactive map showing where hospitals are filling up.

The NPR report goes on to say that the focus is on one important metric — how many beds are filled with COVID-19 patients. "The ratio of COVID-19 hospitalizations to total beds gives a picture of how much strain a hospital is under. Though there's not a clear threshold, it's concerning when that rate rises above 10%.." (source)

Here's the point:

When a hospital is overwhelmed, it reaches a critical point where the number of available beds is not enough to supply the demand of sickness that is, or could be, present. The key is "could be".

According to a report from Web MD, hospitals are coping with overwhelm by taking steps:

• Postponing non-emergency care
• Adjusting staffing
• Partnering with other hospitals
• Stocking up on equipment and supplies

We're talking about margin, folks. That's the key metric for measuring how overwhelmed a hospital is.

And the same holds true for you. How much margin is there in your life right now? Spiritually, Relationally, Financially, Emotionally, Physically, Vocationally?

Just like hospitals, you must keep your eye fixed on the key metrics of supply and demand.

An excellent person keeps a constant eye on the demand that needs to not only meet the current demands, but the potential demands as well. That's margin.

ACTION STEP

• Pick one of the areas I listed above (Spiritual, Relational, Financial, Emotional, Physical, Vocational)
• Identify what margin looks like
• Assess how much you have right now
• List steps to take to avoid overwhelm

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