California’s rise to No. 1 in the nation in confirmed coronavirus cases this week, surpassing New York, reportedly worries Golden State healthcare staff about the possible shortage of medical equipment, beds and hospital staff.
“We need to be prepared to treat up to 25,000 COVID-positive patients,” Carmela Coyle, president and CEO of the California Hospital Association, told FOX 40 in Sacramento. “That is approximately four times the level we are at today.”
California reported a record 12,807 new cases of the virus on Wednesday, and more than 7,000 coronavirus patients were hospitalized across the state, and more than 2,000 needed intensive care, The Los Angeles Times reported.
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But the concern about increasing hospitalizations is more than just finding a bed for a patient, Coyle told LAist.com.
“Capacity is made up not only of space and beds. In fact, those things are among the easiest to solve, ”he said. “But it’s about personal protective equipment and equipment and evidence. And unfortunately, these three things are rare. “
Last week, state officials asked for help from more than 150 Air Force medical workers to relieve overwhelmed personnel at some hospitals across the state.
About 45,000 of the approximately 50,000 hospital beds available in the state were already occupied, Coyle said, according to LAist.com.
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The state is again looking for “non-traditional” locations to add temporary medical centers, and the hospital association has asked the state to request more federal assistance for medical personnel, he said.
Governor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that he was extending the state contract with a Chinese company to insure 120 million N95 masks and 300 million surgical masks to distribute to hospitals and other facilities across the state, but admitted that some hospital workers They continued to complain about the shortage.
“We were able to turn the curve many months ago in the state of California,” Newsom told reporters at a press conference. “That gave us time to buy and acquire the kind of equipment you see behind me and come up with our plans.”
He said the state is prepared for possible tension in hospitals, including “the need to develop alternative care sites outside of our hospital system to help isolate and quarantine people,” the LA Times reported.
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“Alternative sites” can mean “beds in office buildings and conference rooms and everything else within the footprint of the hospital,” Coyle told FOX 40. “That’s not pretty.”
