Hospital officials on Tuesday called on the public to follow precautions against coronavirus as cases increase and staff and space in local hospitals drop to dangerous levels.
At Riverside Community Hospital – where officials said 214 COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized – a former cafe was transformed last weekend as an alternative care space to cope with the growing number of patients waiting in the emergency room for a bed. hospital.
“What I see is devastation,” Annette Greenwood, the hospital’s chief nurse, told the City News Service. “I’ve been a nurse for 33 years and I’ve never seen anything like it.”
She said the current increase in coronavirus cases is largely attributed to Thanksgiving meetings. The potential impact of the Christmas holiday has begun to emerge.
“I don’t think we’ve seen what Christmas growth will look like at all. And that scares us to death. We’re talking about doubling the number we see now that would overwhelm us,” Greenwood said.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Tuesday that Americans could expect to begin direct payment of the COVID-19 exemption by direct deposit as early as Tuesday night.
The California National Guard has deployed nine members of its medical team
to help the hospital’s emergency department and six nurses to help
ICU, but officials say the hospital remains understaffed with an intensive care unit
completely full.
“There are no additional resources to earn in terms of nurses,” Greenwood said. “People are taking extra shifts. They are everything for these patients with COVID. You can’t have your family with you because of the risk, so we pray with these patients, help them call their families, sing with them, and when we need to, we are the last hand to hold before people pass into eternity. And so the emotional tension, along with the physical one, is just overwhelming for the team. “
Kaiser Permanente Riverside and Moreno Valley Medical Centers reported that their intensive care units are also up to capacity and have had to transform conference rooms, waiting rooms and other areas of hospitals into patient care areas as part of their growth plan.
The facilities treat a combined 211 patients with COVID-19, officials said.
Officials at Riverside University Health System Medical Center said the unit is implementing an overvoltage plan and that its ICU is exceeding capacity, with beds in other parts of the hospital filling up rapidly.
“I just can’t get enough to say please wear a mask, please distance yourself socially.
Since Monday, coronavirus hospitalizations in the county have been 1,367, up 40 from Thursday, according to RUHS. It includes 282 intensive care patients, 27 more than last week.
This number of people with COVID-19 in intensive care units has increased by 151% since November 27.