FAIRFIELD-SUISUN, CALIFORNIA
SLO County hospital combats COVID blues with holiday cheer: ‘That’s just what we do’ [The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, Calif.)]
Dec. 25 Dr. Piyal Patel will not be spending Christmas Day opening presents and playing with her two children.
Instead, she’ll be at the hospital.
Like hundreds of other medical professionals around San Luis Obispo County, Patel, a hospitalist at French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, is expected to work on Christmas, treating the numerous patients who are seeking care during the holiday.
Although it’s hard to not be with family on Christmas, Patel recognizes that she is not the only one who has to make adjustments in a year drastically changed by a global pandemic.
SLO County healthcare workers receive first dose of COVID-19 vaccine
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A healthcare worker receives the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in San Luis Obispo on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020.
and last updated 2020-12-19 01:02:59-05
Five frontline healthcare workers were the first to receive Pfizer s COVID-19 vaccine from the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department on Friday.
The health department has received 1,950 doses of the vaccine so far.
Officials say public health nurses will provide vaccinations to frontline healthcare workers, while CVS will give doses to those in long-term care facilities. Other high-risk individuals can expect to get vaccinated closer to March 2021.
SLO County administers first doses of COVID-19 vaccine to health care workers
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. - Five frontline health care workers were among the first residents to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in San Luis Obispo on Friday.
County Public Health said this moment marks the beginning of local vaccine distribution.
The county plans to first administer the vaccine to health care workers while CVS provides vaccines for those in long-term care facilities.
The county plans to continue to distribute the vaccine in phases until it is widely available to anyone who would like to receive it countywide.
“That light at the end of the tunnel is brighter today,” said Dr. Penny Borenstein, the county s Public Health Officer. “Our frontline health care workers and some of our community’s most vulnerable residents will have critical protection through a safe and effective vaccine. This is one of the most important tools we have for ending the COVID-19 pandemic, but the figh
SLO County ICU availability drops, hospital leaders concerned
December 17, 2020
While the state reported the Southern California region is at 0% intensive care unit (ICU) availability on Thursday, San Luis Obispo County has approximately 40% ICU beds unused.
The Southern California region includes medical facilities in Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. While space can be found for patients, there is not enough trained staff to care for the increase in patents in some areas.
A letter co-signed by leaders at French Hospital Medical Center, Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, Twin Cities Community Hospital and Arroyo Grande Community Hospital warns of the dire consequences local hospitals face because of the surge in coronavirus cases.
and last updated 2020-12-17 20:44:49-05
San Luis Obispo County hospital chiefs are sounding the alarm that the COVID-19 pandemic has been gravely underestimated on the Central Coast.
Some local ICUs have no available beds this week, according to French Hospital Medical Center s ICU Director Dr. Mark Soll. He, along with other hospital chiefs, wants the community to know that the dramatic increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions are straining our hospitals. Things have been really escalating at the hospitals and we re starting to have to scramble for beds to put patients into, Dr. Soll said.
He explained that all 11 ICU beds at his hospital are full, with six COVID-19 patients and five others. Staffing is also getting stretched very thin.