COVID-19 Spike Leaves Dangerously Low ICU Bed Availability in Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois Healthcare Memorial Hospital in Carbondale, one of numerous southern Illinois hospitals facing a shortage of ICU beds after the current spike in COVID-19 cases.
Increasing COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are causing a crisis for some southern Illinois hospitals to find available ICU beds for seriously ill patients.
New numbers released by the Illinois Department of Public Health yesterday showed exactly one available ICU bed in the entire 20-county Region 5 in the Governor’s Restore Illinois plan.
Bart Hagston, Administrator of the Jackson County Health Department, which includes Carbondale and Murphysboro, says the dearth of available ICU beds has a negative impact throughout the region.
“This means that those who are in critical need of intensive care may not be able to receive it in a timely fashion, or may have to be transported to a hospital far away, assuming an ICU bed can be found elsewhere,” Hagston said. “Situations like this also have significant ripple effects on other patients. Hospitals have to focus more of their resources on ICU patients, meaning staff are less available to serve chronically ill patients, perform surgeries and other services the public relies upon. Entire communities are impacted, [not] just not those who contract COVID-19.”
Yesterday, Southern Illinois Healthcare posted this graphic about their current COVID hospitalizations. It isn’t good.
As of Friday, COVID test positivity in the southern Illinois region is 11.2%. The region has had between 325-550 positive cases each day since August 16.
