> They want to have a cool story to tell so badly that they make it real in their mind. There’s just enough of an illusion there (at the hospitals) that you can believe it if you want to. Part of it is that they cannot look at data involving themselves dispassionately. The hospitals are typically overworked on purpose, as their labor costs are insane(for good reason). They see what they think is a surge in patients, when in fact there's a surge in layoffs, hospital shutdowns, and the like to save money during a down time. But it's real in their minds, so all of that doesn't matter.