Central Valley hospitals are facing a shortage of safety supplies as California faces coronavirus
As California Gov. Gavin Newsom warned the coronavirus could infect up to half the state’s residents in the coming months, some hospitals in the central San Joaquin Valley already are concerned about running out of everything from beds, ventilators and masks to doctors and nurses.
Newsom, in a letter Wednesday to President Donald Trump, said that 25.5 million people will potentially be infected by COVID-19 by May.
Already some Valley hospitals are seeing supply shortages, which calls into question how prepared the state can be for increased infections.
Peachwood Medical Group in Clovis on Thursday announced they were closing their urgent care center due to the lack of protective gear. Many of the urgent care providers were also an “at risk,” the hospital said in their announcement.
During his order to all Californians to stay indoors, Newsom said the state was aiming to address the medical supply shortage gripping hospitals. He said the state needed to manufacture more ventilators and was in contact with manufacturers. The governor also added that equipment from the national stockpile was being sent to Sacramento and would be distributed to state hospitals.
A Sacramento Bee analysis of state data also found that in 2018, there were 7,274 intensive care unit beds licensed in California. About 58% of those beds were occupied regularly.
In a news conference Tuesday night, Newsom said California’s overall hospital capacity was about 78,000 beds, The Sacramento Bee reported. In extreme circumstances, he said the state of nearly 40 million people could gather close to 90,000 ICU beds.
Beds aren’t the issue – yet
Officials at Valley hospitals so far have not reported a shortage of beds for the current number of patients. There are plans at Kaweah Delta Medical Center to open new floors that could be used for the COVID-19 response. That would combine with the hospital’s current 38 ICU beds.
Sierra View Medical Center has also opened an eight-bed unit for patients needing hospitalization for COVID-19. It has an additional 26 intensive care unit beds available, should they be needed. But no patients have been taken into the hospital for the virus there as of Thursday, according to Dr. Jeffery Hudson-Covolo, Sierra View’s chief nurse executive.
But while beds aren’t a problem – at least not yet – other supplies like face masks and gowns already are scarce. The virus emergency leaves hospitals needing extra equipment to keep staff safe, doctors said.
Staff at Kaweah Delta Medical Center are using medical equipment sparingly and recently got a shipment of N95 and general surgical masks, said spokeswoman Laura McCusker-Florez.
They will need more.
“We, like many hospitals throughout the state, have taken an inventory of supplies and would welcome contributions for supplies such as ventilators and face masks,” McCusker-Florez said.
Doctors at Sierra View, in Porterville, are attempting to preserve as much equipment possible. The hospital recently requested additional surgical gowns from the Tulare Medical Health Operational Area Coordination for its doctors.
Last week, the hospital was allocated surgical masks and gowns. Hudson-Covolo said that some of the equipment was shared with primary care doctors who don’t have such equipment but are in close contact with patients.
Hudson-Covolo also said the hospital is attempting to limit sharing to have as much equipment available for front-line health workers dealing with the coronavirus emergency.
Schools step up for doctors
Protective equipment that would have normally been used for students and staff at Fresno Unified was donated to local hospitals.
Jane Banks, registered nurse and director of health services for Fresno Unified, said she and her two young sons and husband filled their Suburban and made their deliveries Thursday and Friday to local hospitals.
Banks said teachers and warehouse staff helped gather N95 masks, gloves and goggles normally used in the district and in science classes to donate to the hospitals. Since schools were shut down, likely for the rest of the school year, Banks said the supplies had a better use during the health crisis.
“These hospitals have always helped us, so now it was Fresno Unified’s turn to give back,” Banks said. “We’ll have to figure out once school’s come back how sites are covered.”
Each hospital, including St. Agnes Medical Center, Community Regional Medical Center, Clovis Community Hospital, Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center, Valley Children’s Hospital and the Veteran’s Administration Hospital, all received donations.
“We are prudently managing our resources to ensure this equipment is available for our health care workforce for the duration of this pandemic, said Kerri Leedy, Kaiser spokeswoman, on Thursday.
David Pomaville, director of the Fresno County Department of Public Health, said the equipment shortages in the county are expected to last a few weeks before more supplies are gotten. He said requests have been put in to the state for masks and gowns.
Banks, the nursing director, said each hospital she delivered supplies to got seven large boxes of goggles and four boxes of face masks.
“It’s important that (doctors) have this equipment,” Banks said.
Scaling back visitors
Some hospitals have also dramatically scaled back visitation as they try to limit the number of infections.
As of Thursday, officials at hospitals in Fresno and Tulare counties confirmed the facilities simply aren’t allowing visitors.
Entrances are limited and patients are admitted based on need. Some hospitals have ramped up the use of tents as pre-screen areas to prevent infection of the coronavirus to other persons.
Other facilities are undergoing training so doctors understand emergency protocols.
Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno has used tents for a week and has seen a steady flow of patients. Spokeswoman Mary Lisa Russell said so far the hospital has been able to handle patients well and said the hospital is prepared for a greater response if needed.
She said the medical staff has been busy with flu patients, as well.
But to the south, at Kaweah Delta in Visalia, further steps are in place to isolate potential COVID-19-infected persons. On Thursday, along with its no-visitor policy, hospital staff began using three tents near the emergency department to improve its screening process of patients coming with respiratory symptoms. That’s in addition to tents already installed.
A majority of cases in Tulare County have been tested at Kaweah Delta. The hospital also took in the first patient needing care for the coronavirus. That person was confirmed to still be in critical condition.
The new tents near Kaweah Delta hospital’s emergency department will each have a purpose, including specimen collection of individuals who meet requirements to be tested, isolation of patients with respiratory conditions and another to handle all who come to the emergency department.
“Obviously, there will be those patients who need immediate treatment – we still have heart attacks, strokes, traumas and they will come right in, but everything else will come through the tents,” said Gary Herbst, Kaweah Delta’s chief executive officer. “We’re trying to protect our community from contracting the virus and stop the spread. This is spreading rapidly and you see across the nation hospitals are locking down for protection.”
Few Valley hospitalizations
As the number of confirmed cases in the Valley steadily rises, Valley hospitals have seen few people needing to be hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported locally so far.
All of the confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Fresno County involve patients who are recovering at home.
From the testing that has been done so far, Tulare County has the largest number of positive cases in the central San Joaquin Valley.
Meanwhile, the death toll in the state has climbed to 19. More than 1,000 cases have now been confirmed statewide, according to the official data provided by the California Department of Public Health.
Nationwide, the number of confirmed cases on Friday had risen to more than 15,000 and at least 202 have died, the New York Times reported. California and Washington and New York states have seen the most cases.
Guidelines to limit spread
The White House issued a list of guidelines that President Trump is asking Americans to follow for the rest of March, at least, to help slow the spread of coronavirus:
▪ Follow the directions of state and local authorities.
▪ If you feel sick, stay home. Contact your medical provider.
▪ If your children are sick, keep them at home.
▪ If someone in your household has tested positive for the coronavirus, keep the entire household at home.
▪ If you are an older person, stay home and away from other people.
▪ If you have a serious underlying health condition that can put you at increased risk (foro example, a condition that impairs your lung or heart function or weakens your immune system), stay home and away from other people.
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 5:30 PM.
