Nobody really wanted to talk about it Monday, but with hospitalizations projected to hit 100,000 statewide by the end of the month, leaders reluctantly acknowledged Monday that they are ready to begin rationing care if necessary.
Asked during a news conference whether plans were in place for the day when all capacity is used up and no more surge maneuvers are possible, Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of health and human services for California, noted that the state published “crisis care guidelines” in June.
They lay out in significant detail how every hospital in the state should go about deciding who lives and who dies in situations where resources can no longer meet demand.
Multi-Pulitzer prize winning journalist speaks to Imperial Valley College on immigration thedesertreview.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thedesertreview.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
SAN FRANCISCO California s remaining intensive care capacity is alarmingly low, just 2.1% as of Friday. What happens if that number drops even further and hits 0%? Gov. Gavin Newsom explained in a video update Friday afternoon. When you see 0%, that doesn t mean there s no capacity, no one s allowed into an ICU. It means we re now in our surge phase, which is about 20% additional capacity that we can make available, Newsom said.
Four alternative care sites have already been set up to help handle overflow patients. The sites are located at Imperial Valley College, Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, Porterville Developmental Center in Tulare County and Fairview Developmental Center in Orange County.
Southern California region out of ICU space
MGN
State dashboard shows only 1 ICU bed available
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - California health officials say the Southern Region is out of space in its intensive care units (ICUs).
The region dipped below 0.5% Wednesday. By Thursday afternoon, the state s data dashboard showed only one ICU bed available in the 11-county area. The region includes Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties.
The Central California region has also reached 0% ICU capacity.
When a hospital runs out of intensive care space, it moves critical patients to open beds. That can compromises the level of care available to those who need it most.
SAN FRANCISCO
California is opening temporary field hospitals to help with overflow patients as COVID-19 surges fill intensive care units across the state.
The field hospitals will care for non-ICU patients in places such as Costa Mesa, Porterville, Sacramento and Imperial; other facilities are on standby status in Riverside, Richmond, Fresno, San Diego and San Francisco.
On Tuesday, the California Department of Public Health said available ICU capacity in Southern California was just 1.7%, down from 2.7% a day earlier. The situation was particularly grim in Riverside County, which was at zero available ICU capacity as of Tuesday. Available ICU capacity in the San Joaquin Valley was also effectively maxed out and has been fluctuating between zero and 1.6% since Saturday.