COVID-19 breaking point: Northern California hospitals, ICUs filling up with virus patients
The coronavirus has found a weak spot in the California healthcare system. It’s the intensive care unit.
With the COVID-19 surge causing record hospitalizations, and with fears that Thanksgiving get-togethers are about to result in even more extremely ill patients, Gov. Gavin Newsom warned this week he may order another stay-at-home rule at any moment to stop a Christmas crisis in hospitals, particularly in acute care units where capacity is extremely limited.
Already this week, one Sacramento-area hospital in Marysville reported just two ICU beds left. In Placer County, health officials say COVID-19 patients are taking up more than 15% of beds, a worry heading into winter when hospitals are typically most busy. In Sacramento County, health officials on Tuesday said they already are seeing the first reports of Thanksgiving week infections leading to early hospitalizations.
While a hospital may have 100 beds for patients, only a small percentage of those are available for extreme care, with the type of equipment and specially trained doctors and nurses to handle patients that require, for instance, a ventilator to keep them breathing because their lungs have failed.
Read more: https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article247506665.html
