Beds in the Riverside County Intensive Care Unit nearly reached capacity on Sunday, when patients occupied 99% of the normal number of beds. Suspected and confirmed coronavirus patients account for about 35% of those beds, said Riverside spokeswoman Brooke Federico.
The shortage prompted a member of local Congress, a doctor, to call the county to act immediately.
“I ask the County to immediately revoke its decision to terminate public health safety measures and reinstate its order to wear masks in public and to transparently communicate their social distancing and remain in the home and emergency emergency intervention plans. enforcement mechanisms, “US Representative Raul Ruiz, (D-Palm Desert) said in an email.
Local health authorities said official figures on the bed’s capacity show a misleading and grim picture.
Although Riverside County normally offers 385 licensed ICU beds, hospitals have already placed some overflow patients in high capacity beds. Extra beds are temporarily changed for intensive care use, with monitors, ventilators, and IV pumps.
Michael Ditoro, director of operations for the Desert Regional Medical Center, said the facility reached ICU bed capacity “long before COVID.” Year after year. “The medical center’s emergency beds are equally equipped to treat patients as regular ICU beds, he said.
Bed capacity might not be his biggest challenge, Ditoro said. Instead, it is understaffed.
“You really don’t have a centralized area with the beds around it, where it is very fast to get to them. Instead, she may be in a longer hall unit where she needs staff closer to each room, “she said of the surge units.
Alan Williamson, vice president of medical affairs and chief medical officer for Eisenhower Health, reiterated the concern.
In the most drastic scenario, Eisenhower Health could accommodate 155 intensive care patients. “But the question would be, ‘Can you gather enough nursing and ancillary staff to manage 155 ICU beds?'” He said.
Hospital staff have been creating capacity-building plans since the coronavirus broke out in March, Williamson said. He added that Eisenhower Health has planned five phases of capacity increase. He predicts that at the Riverside County coronavirus spike, the number of ICU patients in the hospital will double.
There are about 3,560 licensed hospital beds in total in the 17 hospitals in Riverside County, 37% of which remain available, Federico said. Hospitals have stated that many of these beds can be transformed for intensive use. Still, Williamson said that only a few rooms are ideal for treating COVID-19 patients, with negative pressure ventilation and clear glass walls.
Although the beds are low, many fans are not used. Of the 680 fans in Riverside County, 499 remain available.
In late May, more than 60 Imperial County patients were transferred to Riverside County for treatment. Since then, transfers have decreased and now the number of patients in Imperial County has dropped to three, Federico said.
“The state sent a medical assistance team to establish medical stations in Imperial County. We saw fewer transfers after that, ”he said. “And now, our hospitals are not available to accept as many transfers.”
The coronavirus situation in Riverside County remains grim. As of Monday, Riverside County had registered a total of 16,634 cases, 991 of which were reported since Friday. The number of infections doubles approximately every 27 days.
Riverside County remains on the state’s “Directed Engagement” watch list for counties outside of the acceptable health metrics defined by the California Department of Public Health. To be within acceptable metrics, the county would need to have more beds available in the ICU, fewer than 100 cases per 100,000 people, and a positive test rate of less than 8%.
Although Governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday ordered seven counties to immediately close all bars and nightclubs, Riverside County was not included in the order. State officials suggested that local Riverside County officials establish a similar order.
Riverside County residents are bound by Newsom’s order in California on June 18 that all people wear masks while in public or high-risk settings.
“Wearing masks and social distancing are the most effective ways to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. It will take at least two weeks to see the results of any action taken today, so these measures must be implemented immediately. Any delay will only prolong the increase and cause many more people to become infected, sick, and possibly die, ”Ruiz said.
