Nearly 450 COVID-19 patients being cared for at Beaumont hospitals
DETROIT – Officials with Beaumont said its eight Michigan hospitals have “some ventilator capacity” but are nearing that capacity.
The hospitals are also nearing staffing and personal protective equipment capacity.
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“We have been actively transferring COVID-19 patients within our system to other Beaumont hospitals, as appropriate, if one hospital has more capacity than another. However, across our system, we are facing limitations and nearing capacity with our staffing, personal protective equipment and mechanical ventilators,” Beaumont Health Chief Operating Officer Carolyn Wilson said. “We are taking steps to increase our capacity, such as converting some of our operating rooms into intensive care units.”
During a conference call Monday night, state officials said no COVID-19 patient who has needed a ventilator has been removed from the ventilator — they have either died or are still on it.
Beaumont is also working to increase testing.
Right now, it is prioritizing its testing for patients who are admitted to a Beaumont hospital or receiving treatment at a Beaumont emergency center.
Also, Beaumont is prioritizing testing for physicians, nurses and staff who directly care for COVID-19 patients.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the hospital system is caring for nearly 450 patients who have coronavirus (COVID-19), while test results are pending for 185 admitted patients.
The state has 1,791 confirmed cases and 24 people have died.
“Given the way our health care system and others have needed to convert to primarily COVID-19 screening diagnosis and treatment in the past few weeks, we will soon be looking at the need for coordinating the care of acute COVID-19 patients across the region and beyond,” Beaumont CEO John Fox said. “This is why we have been discussing statewide coordination with other hospitals and MDHHS to care for COVID-19 patients. We also recognize some systems might not be caring for as many COVID-19 patients as others right now. All health systems in Michigan need to work together to help care for these patients. I am very pleased with the commitment all the hospital systems have expressed to work together to respond to the pandemic.”
To help slow the spread, it is crucial to treat every person you come in contact with as if they are infected with the virus. Failing to r