For weeks public health and state officials have warned that Central and Southern California hospitals are quickly running out of intensive care unit beds for coronavirus patients ahead of a presumed post-holiday surge. But what exactly does it mean to be at 0% ICU capacity?
San Joaquin County’s seven hospitals have 99 licensed ICU beds, according to the county’s Emergency Medical Services Agency. On Tuesday, the county was at 155% capacity of those beds, with hospitals having to add an additional 54 to accommodate the surge in ICU patients. That number dropped to 53 overflow beds by Wednesday afternoon, EMS reported.
While the county is technically over its ICU capacity, EMS spokeswoman Marissa Matta said that doesn’t mean hospitals will run out of beds. But she also said that current capacity levels are still a reason for serious concern.
“There really is no do-or-die, 100% concrete answer to that because we can bring in extra beds,” Matta said of when the county might possibly max out its ICU capacity. “It really depends on the resources that are available to us at that time.”
A Department of Defense medical team has been deployed to the county in order to expand ICU capacity, which will provide extra staffing to Adventist Health Lodi Memorial Hospital in Lodi and Dameron Hospital in Stockton. The team arrived Tuesday and will be operating in time for the New Year’s weekend. A DOD team was also previously brought in to help county hospitals with the surge of coronavirus patients that occurred during the summer months. …
Cassie Dickman 