Alleged Waiting Room "Strolling" Video Description Not Accurate

A reader of a particular right-wing blog is said to have "corroborated" an unnamed doctor's story that alleged hospitals were not in "crisis." The so-called corroboration came from a reader of the blog said to have recorded a video of a "stroll" taken through the "emergency room welcome area" of Providence hospital, alleging that the area was nearly empty and that, somehow, this was proof that Providence was not experiencing a healthcare crisis.

Unfortunately, the video and its accompanying description shared by the right-wing blog do not appear (not so shockingly) to be accurate.

According to an explanation provided by Providence, the "strolling" video does not show the emergency department waiting area. Instead, it depicts an area of the hospital known as the Day Surgery gallery, a long hallway between where Providence's old lab used to be and where the Day Surgery check-in is located. This area is used for elective and scheduled procedures such as people checking in to receive knee replacements, tumor removals, and similar non-emergent procedures.

The Emergency Department waiting area is located in a different location, further down the hallway.

Mike Canfield, a media spokesperson for Providence Alaska Medical Center, responded to a request for comment via email, telling me that it was important to note that waiting areas are not an accurate reflection of what is happening within their hospital.

"An empty waiting area, which could be empty at any time, depending on the time and day, does not indicate what is happening within the treatment areas of the Intensive Care Unit, Intermediate ICU, Progressive Care Unit, or Emergency Department," Canfield wrote.

Canfield suggested that drawing a comparison in this manner would be like trying to determine whether a hotel was full based on how busy the lobby was at any particular moment.

Other assertions published on the blog, believed to be the mouthpiece for the feckless Alaska Republican Party, alleged that while Alaska hospitals are unquestionably under pressure, they are "not in crisis."

Hospitals are facing a crisis, and that healthcare crisis was warned about months ago by Jared Kosin, President & CEO of the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association. In August, Kosin said Alaska had hit new hospitalization highs and told the Anchorage Daily News, "As far as we're concerned, the crisis we have been warning about is here."

This afternoon, Alaska Governor Michael Dunleavy activated crisis standards of care for the entire state. Dunleavy's move can be seen as a warning sign that healthcare staffing shortages and a flood of COVID-19 patients in Alaska's hospitals could make it impossible for hospitals to treat all of their patients.

At today's COVID-19 press conference, a reporter noted that people had accused hospital officials of being dramatic about hospital capacity. Governor Dunleavy responded that, in his experience, hospital capacity is "very tight."