Public health officials in Arizona ordered hospitals to “activate” their emergency protocols for addressing the coronavirus pandemic as the number of cases continues to climb.
The Arizona Department of Health Services Director Cara Christ sent a letter over the weekend, notifying hospitals that a surge of intensive care unit patients may be on the horizon as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases spikes. Hospitals were asked to take steps to limit elective surgeries if they see a rise in patients to “ensure adequate bed capacity for both COVID and non-COVID admissions.”
Jessica Rigler, assistant director of Arizona’s Department of Health Services, said that field hospitals are being prepared as well.
“[Field hospitals are] able to be activated should we need it as we see bed capacity dwindling in the state,” she said. “As of today, we had about 23% of ICU beds reported available across the state.”
Banner Health, a hospital chain in the state, said that the number of patients who need a ventilator because of COVID-19 has quadrupled since mid-May.
“We have seen a steady climb of COVID-19 cases in Arizona over the last two weeks. This trend is concerning to us, and also correlates with a rise in cases that we are seeing in our hospital ICUs,” the hospital tweeted on Monday. “Our ICUs are very busy caring for the sickest of the sick who are battling COVID-19. Since May 15, ventilated COVID-19 patients have quadrupled. Banner Health also recently reached capacity for patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) treatment.”
Our ICUs are very busy caring for the sickest of the sick who are battling COVID-19. Since May 15, ventilated COVID-19 patients have quadrupled. Banner Health also recently reached capacity for patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) treatment. (2/3)
— Banner Health (@BannerHealth) June 8, 2020
Christ previously directed the state’s hospital to implement all emergency protocols on March 25. The state also began a stay-at-home order around that time, but the mandate was lifted on May 15, and the state has reopened all businesses with some capacity limits and social distancing guidelines still in place.
The spike of cases in Arizona comes as some of the hardest-hit states, such as New York and New Jersey, begin their reopening processes.
