The remaining intensive care unit (ICU) capacity in the Southern California region has dropped to 0.5% percent as officials at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital struggle to maintain adequate staffing in their own ICU.
We cannot afford to see another holiday surge that will overwhelm our already strained hospital system. Please, stay home as much as possible, wear your face coverings and don’t gather. pic.twitter.com/RGW4hbWWVB
— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) December 16, 2020
On Wednesday, the California Department of Public Health announced that the ICU capacity for the Southern California region had dropped to 0.5%, which is less than a third of the previous day’s capacity.
The Southern California region includes Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties.
“We cannot afford to see another holiday surge that will overwhelm our already strained hospital system,” reads a tweet from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued Wednesday. “Please, stay home as much as possible, wear your face coverings and don’t gather.”
Within the Santa Clarita Valley, the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital has been steadily rising since the beginning of November. As recently as Wednesday, a total of 82 COVID-19 patients were being treated at Henry Mayo, representing the highest such number since the beginning of the pandemic.
“We are definitely struggling to adequately staff all of the intensive care patients,” said Patrick Moody, spokesperson for the hospital.
While Moody said that he “would love to give you an exact number” regarding the hospital’s ICU capacity, the fluid nature of their staffing situation makes it “extremely difficult” to provide such a definitive metric.
“Our constraint is not the number of beds, our constraint is staffing,” Moody said. “We don’t really have a bed figure because the staffing situation is very fluid. We are not at capacity now, but it’s a constant effort to make sure we’re adequately staffed with enough intensive care nurses.”
Moody emphasized that the hospital had “plenty of beds,” and was working to increase its staffing capacity.
Additionally, Henry Mayo has constructed two tents outside of the emergency room to screen potential COVID-19 patients before allowing them into the building.
“That’s not where they would stay if they’re admitted, but while they’re waiting to be processed they can be more comfortable,” Moody said.
See Related: Record Number Of COVID-19 Cases, Deaths Reported In Los Angeles County Amid ‘Explosive’ Surge
Across Los Angeles County, there were 4,656 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Wednesday, 21 percent of which are in the ICU.
Because L.A. County is in the Southern California region, the Los Angeles County Health Officer Order has been modified to fully align with additional safety measures across sectors and the required effective date.
The order prohibits private gatherings of any size, closes sector operations except for critical infrastructure and retail, and requires 100 percent masking and physical distancing in all others, according to the governor’s office.
Outdoor services for places of worship and outdoor protests are still permitted within the order, as long as social distancing and masking protocols are followed.
The order is set to remain in effect for at least three weeks and, after that period, will not be lifted until the region’s projected ICU capacity meets or exceeds 15 percent.
If the Southern California region drops to 0% the state is set to put forth a “surge” capacity, bringing additional resources from outside the area.
Ed. Note: Devon Miller and Elliott Keegan contributed to this report.
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