Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday defended the capacity of the state hospital and intensive care unit, saying recent criticism has been inaccurate.
Capacity data from the state’s Health Care Administration Agency’s intensively updated intensive care unit reported on July 15 that 54 hospitals with adult intensive care units were at full capacity.
DeSantis offered several explanations for the numbers, all in support of his statement that the state has sufficient UCI capacity.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
“The bigger picture from this morning’s census is that statewide 24 percent of hospital beds in the state of Florida are empty, that’s over 14,000 hospital beds and about 20 percent of beds ICU beds are empty and that’s over 1,000 ICU beds, “said DeSantis. he said during a press conference.
He added that the state has many rural communities and hospitals that have zero ICU capacity under any circumstances. However, the total (54 hospitals figure) from the state report was calculated among hospitals that specifically listed adult ICU capacity.
In addition, the Governor explained that several hospitals are part of a larger system that could offer greater ICU bed capacity throughout the system if needed.
“In Miami-Dade, for example, which is obviously receiving the highest amount of hospital admissions in the state of Florida, they have almost 18 percent of all their beds available, which is around 1,500 beds as of this morning and then they have 15 percent of ICU beds available, “he said.
DeSantis explained that hospitals generally want to operate intensive care units (ICUs) with 88 to 90 percent full, and explained that there is no need to hire staff if not in use. “An ICU is not a fixed product, if there is a greater need, then they can expand that type of services …”, he said.
The governor went on to say that Palm Beach has 30 percent of beds available, with 25 percent of beds available in ICU. “There is obviously the ability to deal with COVID, but it is also important to note that COVID-19 is only a fraction of what these hospitals do every day.”
The Governor expressed concern that people with pressing health problems other than COVID-19 have been delaying care for fear of contracting the virus in the hospital, but also because “people simply assumed there was no capacity for other people besides COVID, which is not absolutely true. “
The governor went on to say that the general census of hospitals has been “relatively stable.”
In any case, DeSantis said the health care system expressed concern about the staff. While virus infection and the necessary self-quarantine could leave hospitals understaffed, the governor also said there is a “natural reduction in staff that generally occurs” around this season.
DeSantis said the state has already deployed hundreds of medical personnel in needy areas and that they will deploy up to 1,400 more in the near future.
In addition, the Governor discussed 25 “COVID-only nursing facilities,” where Florida hospitals can send residents long-term care positive for the virus but still in medically stable conditions as a means of preventing the spread of infections in nursing homes.
On Monday, the statewide positivity percentage was 13.6 percent. Last week Fox 35 Orlando conducted an investigation in Florida labs after finding “astronomical numbers” in the positivity ratings.
Across Florida, there have been more than 369,000 cases of COVID-19. The virus has killed more than 5,200 Floridians and there are still 21,780 people hospitalized due to coronaviruses in the state.
Mary C. Mayhewis, secretary of the Florida Health Care Administration Agency, reaffirmed DeSantis’ statements about adequate hospital capacity during the press conference, as did Lindy Kennedy, president and CEO of the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida. .
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
