Central Indiana hospitals brace for surge of COVID-19 patients
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana has had three weeks to prepare for the surge of COVID-19 patients that health officials anticipate.
The surge is expected to hit Indiana in mid-April. With hundreds of ICU beds and ventilators ready and waiting, the greatest need is people.
Franciscan Health on the south side of Indianapolis is one of the five central Indiana hospitals preparing for the surge of COVID-19 patients.
“All of the hospitals are getting busier with regards to sicker COVID patients, patients requiring critical care and even being on the ventilator. Right now, I would say that our capacity is certainly adequate for what we are seeing and for significant increase over the next few days or week, but if the trajectory continues as has been modeled, we will be running up against significant capacity constraints, both in terms of ventilator supply as well as staffing capabilities, to be honest,” Dr. Christopher Doehring of Franciscan Health Central Indiana said Monday.
And the state needs to double the existing capacity. Dr. Jennifer Sullivan, the secretary of the Family and Social Services Administration, says there are almost 2,000 ICU rooms and 1,100 ventilators statewide.
“Each hospital is increasing its critical care capacity by opening up existing bed space and turning other space into critical care space,” said Sullivan.
That capacity is being increased by ending elective surgeries, using recovery rooms, surgery center rooms, emergency rooms and in some cases maternity wards as ICU rooms.
Staffing
these rooms is another challenge. The state has temporarily eased or removed
license requirements to allow retired health care professionals to come back to
work.
“We are putting out the all-hands-on-deck call so that if and when that surge does really materialize in the next two or three weeks, that we would have sufficient resources to support the critical care needs, including managing those ventilators,” said Doehring.
So far 5,300 health care professionals have volunteered to come back to work. The state is also using specialty doctors and fourth-year medical and nursing students.