Bellingham hospital cared for 36 coronavirus patients, has room for more, City Council told
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham hasn’t seen a large surge or dramatic increase in the number of cases that would have strained the hospital during the COVID-19 outbreak, PeaceHealth Northwest Chief Executive Charles Prosper said Monday evening during a Bellingham City Council meeting.
Prosper said since the pandemic began, the hospital has seen 348 acute care inpatients who had symptoms of a respiratory condition, but had negative test results for the new coronavirus. The hospital has provided care to 36 positive coronavirus patients, Prosper said.
“That is a relatively small number compared to some of the more dramatic numbers in communities we’ve seen. So the good work that everyone is doing is paying off,” he said.
As of Tuesday, April 14, 265 people have been confirmed to have the new coronavirus in Whatcom County and 25 people who tested positive have died, according to the Whatcom County Health Department.
Prosper said in general, St. Joseph hospital has a capacity of 251 inpatient beds. There is the option to convert another 50 or 60 additional outpatient spaces if needed, he said, meaning the hospital could treat more than 300 patients in a “true stress, full-capacity condition.”
Prosper said over the past several weeks, hospital space has been transformed and staff have created units that didn’t exist before. Prosper said there are now units, both regular medical and intensive care, dedicated to treating patients who have the coronavirus. He said the separation of regular medical and ICU units dedicated to coronavirus patients allows hospital staff to treat patients with similar conditions in a similar way, but by maximizing staffing, supplies and other resources. He said it also reduces the chance of cross-infection between someone who has the coronavirus and someone who doesn’t.
Prosper said as of Monday, April 13, the hospital was using roughly 50% of its regular medical beds and approximately 30% of its ICU beds. He said as of Monday, there were fewer than 10 patients who had a positive coronavirus diagnosis in the hospital. Prosper said a very small number of them were in the ICU, and that no patients were on ventilators. He also said overall emergency department numbers were down since the pandemic started, in part due to the work that primary care physicians are doing throughout the community.
“These low numbers are absolute measures of success. It means today that the hospital has lots of capacity,” Prosper said. “We do have good space capacity and we’re ready to surge up.”
Prosper said the hospital has been aggressive in acquiring personal protective equipment, or PPE, from various sources for staff and have also received some from Whatcom Unified Command, the multi-governmental agency that’s directing the local pandemic response. He said hospital staff are also following PPE conservation guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This means that rather than PPE being thrown out after being used once, staff are using the materials in “an extended way,” Prosper said. He said that once there’s “any reason” to believe the integrity of the equipment has been compromised, it’s discarded and staff are given new PPE.
Prosper said the hospital’s surge ability is also related to staffing. He said nurses have gone through retrainings that have taught them additional skills in case they’re moved from their regular duties to a more intensive care setting or unit treating patients with the coronavirus.
“We have been impressed by the number of physicians in our community who have come forward and said ‘You know what, I want to be able to be present and help in the hospital in the way that I can’,” Prosper said. “People have really stepped up. This building is filled with everyday healthcare heroes, and it’s just amazing how they’ve stepped forward to do great work.”
This story was originally published April 14, 2020 at 2:14 PM.
