‘There isn’t enough room.’ High patient volume, COVID pushes Valley hospital to its limit
UPDATE: Kaweah Health Medical Center on Friday night called off its internal disaster, known as a Code Triage.
This is the second internal disaster related to hospital census and capacity in less than three months for the health system.
As of Friday, there were 350 adult inpatients being cared for at Kaweah Health Medical Center. Of its inpatients, 105 patients were positive for COVID-19.
Those numbers were down slightly from Oct. 3 when Kaweah Health called its code triage with 368 inpatients at the downtown medical center, including zero beds available for additional patients needing hospitalization.
“We are feeling some relief today as we prepare to welcome the first of 16 registered nurses that the state is sending to help us care for patients,” said Keri Noeske, Kaweah Health Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, noting that the nurses would be available to assist Kaweah Health through the end of the month. “With these additional nurses, we’ll have staffing so that we can use surge beds as high volumes continue.”
Original Story
Kaweah Health Medical Center in Visalia declared an “internal disaster” Wednesday as the hospital found itself pushed to the brink of their capacity for patients seeking treatment.
The situation is the second time in less than three months that the hospital has implemented a “code triage” that represents what the facility called a “heightened level of preparedness” to respond to emergencies. Wednesday’s declaration was triggered because there were more than 50 patients already admitted to the hospital awaiting a bed for treatment.
An additional 60 patients were seeking care in the emergency department.
The downtown Visalia hospital, which has the highest number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state, was stuffed with 368 patients and no beds available for any new patients requiring inpatient treatment. Officials reported 111 patients in the emergency department, including 51 admitted for treatment and awaiting an open bed.
In other parts of the hospital, patients were being treated in overflow areas with nursing staff from other units.
“When coupled with staffing shortages, this intense patient demand is putting a significant strain on our organization,” Kaweah Health CEO Gary Herbst said in a statement issued Wednesday afternoon.
Chief nursing officer and vice president Keri Noeski said the hospital has been reaching out to other Valley hospitals in hopes that they can accept patient transfers to ease the strain.
“We live in an area where normally there are a high number of hospitalizations due to chronic illness and high medical needs.,” Noeske said. “Additionally, we have the highest number of COVID-19 patients in the state and there just isn’t enough room for everyone.”
The hospital is still accepting patients, but “exceptionally long” waiting times at the emergency room mean Kaweah Health officials are encouraging patients with illnesses or injuries that are not life-threatening to instead contact their family or primary physician or an urgent-care center for treatment.
Across the Valley, hospitalization rates for COVID-19 patients are higher than in other parts of the state, especially compared to more populous regions with higher vaccination rates against the coronavirus.
“Tulare County has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the state,” the hospital reported Wednesday. The county ranks 45th out of California’s 58 counties with just over 46% of residents fully vaccinated.
In San Francisco, where 76% of people are fully vaccinated, the UC San Francisco Medical Center had only 20 patients. There were 29 patients at the Stanford University Medical Center in Santa Clara County, where more than 73% of residents are fully vaccinated.
In Los Angeles, the largest metropolitan area in the state with a vaccination rate of 72%, “UCLA has nine COVID patients and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center had 13 COVID patients,” Kaweah officials reported.
This story was originally published November 3, 2021 at 5:10 PM.
