Pictured above is the emergency room entrance at Memorial Hospital. The tent shown at right is ready for use as an assessment center should the facility see an increase in patients. It is currently not in use. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
Repurposed space, and possibly rooms in new tower, could be used for patient spike
While some hospitals are scouting new locations to create bed space ahead of the predicted mid-April surge in coronavirus related admissions, Memorial Hospital believes it can meet the need by making adjustments within the facility.
“In addition to existing inpatient rooms, we would have the ability to use many of our pre/post-op surgery rooms, where we can close off a space and still allow for emergent surgeries in a confined space,” Memorial Chief Nursing Officer Ashley Boyer said. “We also have the ability to convert former patient rooms that have been used otherwise in these days of limited space options back into patient rooms in the step-down area and in the area of our medical/surgery unit.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine recently said the state’s hospitals will likely need to triple their capacity of hospital beds to meet the demands of the surge. Officials believe peak will come in mid-April, but concede it might not occur until May.
DeWine said two things are very important in the coming weeks, the first being social distancing which is been stressed has been stressed since the outset of the pandemic.
“The other is to build up, and build up very, very, very quickly,” DeWine said about hospital capacity. “We do not have a lot of time.”
Some in the community may have wondered if Memorial’s $50 million construction project, which includes a 36-room inpatient tower, could be used in the event of a surge in needed bed space.
Memorial Executive Vice President Spence Fisher said the tower is not currently ready, but he admitted that in an emergency the new facility might be an option.
“Under any normal circumstances, the new inpatient rooms would not be utilized, but should the surge be so significant or the surge be delayed significantly as we ‘flatten the curve,’ there is a chance it could happen,” Fisher said.
Fisher said the construction on the patient rooms on floors two and three are nearing completion, but the first floor still requires extensive work.
“It is safe to say that only under emergency circumstances would floors two and three in the new tower be considered,” Fisher said.
So far, official say that outside of visitor restrictions and other safeguards, operations at the hospital seem to be progressing normally.
Chief Medical Officer Vic Trianfo said the hospital has not treated any patients with the virus, despite health department reports of four confirmed cases in Union County. A positive test for coronavirus does not mean immediate hospitalizations, as patients are instructed to quarantine themselves at home unless the symptoms become severe.
“We have had cared for patients with respiratory illness, and a few inpatients that warranted testing for COVID-19, but, to this point, these patients have all come back negative for this new virus,” Trianfo said.
The hospital also appears to be in good shape in terms of staffing levels, as some recent changes have created flexibility in available staff.
“The modifications to our current services, including rescheduling of elective surgery cases, has actually made team members available to assist with other assignments and roles throughout the system,” Boyer said.
Beds and staff aren’t the only commodities which could come under strain during the outbreak. Items such as ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE) have also been in short supply in other regions seeing spikes in coronavirus hospitalizations.
Trianfo would not say how many ventilators Memorial Hospital has in operation, but he said the facility has taken steps to expand ventilator capacity. The same is true of PPE, he said.
“Like all healthcare facilities, Memorial is seeking opportunities to conserve and increase our inventory of PPE,” Trianfo said. “We did enter into an agreement with Battelle to engage that organization in the newly FDA approved process to sanitize N95 masks for reuse.”
Recently Battelle, a non-profit global research and development operation located in Columbus, created a mass sterilization process for the N95 mask which would allow them to be reused up to 20 times. The FDA originally authorized Battelle to sterilize 10,000 masks per day at its West Jefferson facility.
After pleas from the company and DeWine, the FDA now allows the facility to sterilize its full capacity of 80,000 masks per day.