As COVID-19 cases surge, how are hospitals coping with the strain? Sydney Kurle | Dec 23, 2020
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With staffing shortages and less than 2% of beds available in Intensive Care Units (ICU), hospitals in California are struggling to come up with strategies to combat the COVID-19 surge.
California saw over 32,000 new cases reported today and over 18,000 people currently hospitalized, the state is currently at more than double its previous peak, which was in July. There is no end in sight with current CDC projections seeing this surge continue into January.
While hospital staff and at-risk communities are receiving the first round of the vaccine roll-out, the vaccine will not be available to the general public for months. Hospitals in Southern California and the state in general are grappling with how to handle the surge.
Psych Hospital Union Win in Years
Registered nurses who work in the Sutter Health’s Sutter Center for Psychiatry Hospital in Sacramento have voted by 83 percent to join the California Nurses Association. This is the largest free standing psychiatric hospital in Northern California to achieve a union representation win in many years.
In a mail ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board, the RNs voted 62 to 13 for the union - an 83 percent victory margin. The ballots were counted Wednesday, Dec. 23. CNA, an affiliate of National Nurses United, will represent 100 RNs at the facility.
“As patient advocates, we voted to join CNA to have a collective RN voice to make this a safer hospital for our patients and each other. Patient safety is our number one priority,” said Sutter Psych RN Natalya Yumin after the vote count.
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California state officials has adjusted the nurse to patient ratio to 1:3 to accommodate the current emergency brought upon by the pandemic.
But where does ICU capacity stand in a region like San Diego? NBC 7 reached out to local hospitals to get a better picture of the situation and learned that they, like many other medical centers in the state, are reaching their limits.
As of Monday evening:
Palomar Health said the number fluctuates but that it has reached its ICU capacity, meaning that some patients are waiting in the Emergency Department for a bed.
Scripps said it is sitting at 82% capacity, adding that it is dealing with higher patient volumes and has converted some beds to address the need.