The situation in local hospitals continues to intensify as a spike in COVID-19 admissions in recent days has pushed some facilities past their worst points this summer, hospital administrators said Wednesday.
At the two Mercy hospitals in Bakersfield, space for critical care patients has run out. There were 32 ICU patients in the downtown and southwest hospitals at one point Wednesday morning but only 28 beds, according to Bruce Peters, CEO of the two hospitals. Almost half the ICU patients were on ventilators, he said.
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital is now averaging 70 patients a day in its ICU, up from 48 patients a day last week, said its CEO Ken Keller.
WSJ.com
Many U.S. Hospitals, ICUs Are at or Near Highest Capacity Levels
The Fresno Community Regional Medical Center is canceling elective surgeries to be able to handle a surge in Covid patients.Yang Lei/Xinhua/Zuma Press
As intensive-care beds in his Fresno, Calif., hospital have filled up with Covid-19 patients in recent weeks, Dr. Eyad Almasri has seen colleagues fall ill with the virus, straining resources even further.
“We are trying to cancel many surgeries, and anything elective will be canceled, but the hospital is at capacity,” said Dr. Almasri, a pulmonologist who works at UCSF Fresno’s Community Regional Medical Center’s intensive-care unit. “To make it worse.we have a lot of our staff that has been really impacted.”
Health Officials Warn Of Dwindling ICU Beds, Overcrowded Hospitals: COVID-19 Update For Dec 11 kvpr.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kvpr.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Kern County Public Health Services Department held a wide-ranging news conference Thursday to discuss the status of coronavirus. County officials discussed the impending arrival of vaccine to health care
State officials announced that the intensive care unit capacity in the San Joaquin Valley had fallen to 1.9 percent on Thursday, far below the 15 percent mark that would allow