[DocSavage87]

This one is for Teejers...

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shot...-keeps-hid

For instance, the most recent report obtained by NPR, dated Oct 27, lists cities where hospitals are filling up, including the metro areas of Atlanta, Minneapolis and Baltimore, where in-patient hospital beds are over 80% full. It also lists specific hospitals reaching max capacity, including facilities in Tampa, Birmingham and New York that are at over 95% ICU capacity and at risk of running out of intensive care beds.

Indeed it would be useful for policy making purposes at a local level if this data were widely available.

(It would also be useful to know how this compares to typical utilization rates for this time of year; maybe because I did my residency in a facility that was chronically at capacity, 80% is not shocking, but I also know that the old UCLA medical center was the exception and not the rule.)

BC

I also wonder how capacity is defined with respect to beds vs staffing for that bed, particularly in ICU units where patient load and severity can impact the staffing requirements.  I’ve heard of some politicians playing games with those figures to show they aren’t in trouble when if you factor in illness severity, possible workers being lost due to infection, etc, they are playing a dangerous game.

[DocSavage87]

This one is for Teejers...

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shot...-keeps-hid

For instance, the most recent report obtained by NPR, dated Oct 27, lists cities where hospitals are filling up, including the metro areas of Atlanta, Minneapolis and Baltimore, where in-patient hospital beds are over 80% full. It also lists specific hospitals reaching max capacity, including facilities in Tampa, Birmingham and New York that are at over 95% ICU capacity and at risk of running out of intensive care beds.

Indeed it would be useful for policy making purposes at a local level if this data were widely available.

(It would also be useful to know how this compares to typical utilization rates for this time of year; maybe because I did my residency in a facility that was chronically at capacity, 80% is not shocking, but I also know that the old UCLA medical center was the exception and not the rule.)

BC

I also wonder how capacity is defined with respect to beds vs staffing for that bed, particularly in ICU units where patient load and severity can impact the staffing requirements.  I’ve heard of some politicians playing games with those figures to show they aren’t in trouble when if you factor in illness severity, possible workers being lost due to infection, etc, they are playing a dangerous game.