Omicron surge is undermining care for other health problems

Roger Strukhoff 67, poses for a portrait Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, in his DeKalb, Ill., home. Strukhoff was being treated for intestinal bleeding at a hospital outside Chicago this month when he suffered a mild heart attack. Normally, the medical staff would have sent Strukhoff to the intensive care unit, but, overrun with COVID-19 patients, the staff instead had to wheel a heart monitor into his room and quickly administer nitroglycerin and morphine. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Roger Strukhoff 67, poses for a portrait Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, in his DeKalb, Ill., home. Strukhoff was being treated for intestinal bleeding at a hospital outside Chicago this month when he suffered a mild heart attack. Normally, the medical staff would have sent Strukhoff to the intensive care unit, but, overrun with COVID-19 patients, the staff instead had to wheel a heart monitor into his room and quickly administer nitroglycerin and morphine. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

By BEN FINLEY and KATE BRUMBACK / Associated Press January 21, 2022 5 min read

Roger Strukhoff was being treated for intestinal bleeding at a hospital outside Chicago this month when he suffered a mild heart attack.

Normally, the 67-year-old would have been sent to the intensive care unit. But Strukhoff said it was overrun with COVID-19 patients, and the staff instead had to wheel a heart monitor into his room and quickly administer nitroglycerin and morphine.

“A doctor I know pretty well said, ‘Roger, we’re going to have to improvise right here,'” said Strukhoff, who lives in DeKalb, Illinois.

The omicron surge this winter has not only swamped U.S. hospitals with record numbers of patients with COVID-19, it has also caused frightening moments and major headaches for people trying to get treatment for other ailments.

Less-urgent procedures have been put on hold around the country, such as cochlear implant surgeries and steroid injections for rheumatoid arthritis. And people with all sorts of medical complaints have had to wait in emergency rooms for hours longer than usual.