Inland Empire Hospitals Overwhelmed As Coronavirus Cases Surge
RIVERSIDE (CBSLA) — Doctors and nurses are stretched to their limits at emergency rooms across Southern California, and in Riverside County, hospitals experienced their worst single-day spike in both hospitalizations and deaths from the novel coronavirus Thursday.
At Riverside Community Hospital, beds in the intensive care unit are nearly full.
"All of us are a little worried about what happens at that point," Annette Greenwood, the hospital's chief nursing officer, said. "It is getting really tough on all of the healthcare workers, both physically and mentally."
And over at Eisenhower Medical Center, 65 miles away in Rancho Mirage, COVID-unit staff have become so overwhelmed that federal medical response teams were called in to help as ICU beds and COVID units approach full capacity. The hospital said it was already running at 100% of staffing capacity.
"I've never seen a virus attack the lungs so aggressively," Greenwood said of the illness.
More troubling was that the county was starting to see more young coronavirus patients falling sick enough to be hospitalized. And, Greenwood said, treating the most severe cases — where people need to be intubated — was a feat in itself.
"We're flipping them on their stomachs," she said. "Every four hours, we're turning them. It helps them to breathe, but it definitely is hard on staff."
And it's hard on patients, too, some of whom take months to recover and others who die as a result of the illness.
"You don't want to mess with this," Greenwood said. "You don't want to mess with this."
With no relief in sight, health officials urged people to take the virus seriously and wear face coverings while out in public among other precautions.
"I'm begging people to wash their hands," Greenwood said. "If you don't have to go somewhere, stay home."
On Thursday, Riverside County reported 1,696 new cases and 32 additional fatalities, bringing countywide totals to 28,177 cases and 585 deaths. County health officials also reported that 531 were hospitalized — 134 of whom were in intensive care units — and 10,271 total recoveries.
In San Bernardino County, health officials reported 1,012 new cases and one additional fatality, bringing countywide totals to 21,468 cases and 310 deaths. The county also projected that 11,992 had recovered.
As of Sunday, the date of the county's last update, 587 people were hospitalized with 166 being treated in intensive care units.
In total, 300,972 Riverside County residents have been tested and 188,226 San Bernardino County residents have been tested for COVID-19.
