California Hospitals Prepare Contingency Plan In Case ICU Beds Reach Capacity
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- California hospitals are preparing a contingency plan in case ICU beds reach capacity due to a continued surge in COVID-19 related hospitalizations.
"We are certainly worried that with so many patients with COVID being admitted, a predictable number needing ICU level care, that that system — that fragile but important system — may be overwhelmed," said California public health chief Dr. Mark Ghaly.
According to the California Hospital Association, the plan includes converting medical surgical units to ICUs for COVID-19 patients, moving patients to other healthcare facilities such as skilled nursing facilities, and transferring patients to another hospital.
The state health department said Tuesday that the number of patients in ICUs has increased by nearly 69% in the past 14 days.
In Southern California, only 10% of ICU beds are currently available.
"It's really, really concerning," said Marcia Santini, an ER nurse at UCLA Medical Center. "It's tough to be a healthcare worker right now, I have to tell you. It's really tough."
The CHA said the biggest concern is staffing these beds with medical experts who make minute-by-minute changes to patients' care.
MORE: LA County Reports 8K Total COVID-19 Deaths, Over 3,000 Hospitalizations
Ghaly listed a few of the reasons that patients need round-the-clock care: "The need to monitor breathing machines, patients who are intubated on ventilators, the need to make sure that patients kidneys are functioning well, that the heart is pumping enough blood to the rest of the body..."
Jennifer Swenson, President of Adventist Health in Simi Valley, said that early on they brought in travel nurses and nurses through staffing agencies in preparation for a spike.
"This is our seasonal time when hospitals are normally busy, and so you couple that with COVID... that's what's taxing our situation," she said.
Following state guidelines, the hospital has also converted some surgical units to ICU beds for COVID-19 patients and has put other measures in place to prepare for the strained capacity.
"If we need ICU beds, we will start by looking throughout the house — who can be discharged appropriately who can be in another setting, who can be in another level of care," she said. "Adventist Health actually created a hospital-at-home model. For example, for those patients who are in a med surge status that might be here for just IV antibiotics, we can actually treat those patients at home."
Hospital administrators also added that their staff is fatigued after about nine months of the pandemic.
In Los Angeles County, there have been a total of 21,491 positive cases among healthcare workers and first responders. This past week, 1,745 healthcare workers tested positive for COVID-19.
This is double the number of new cases that were reported among medical personnel the prior week.
Of those who tested positive, 73% were younger than 50 years old. There have been a total 113 deaths among healthcare workers. Nurses continue to account for the majority of deaths among healthcare workers at 42%.
