PMHD preparing for drop in COVID patients
BRAWLEY — Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District believes it has gotten through the worst of COVID-19 surge, and it is now planning on how it can best accommodate the slower pace that will come in the next six months.
PMHD’s Chief Executive Officer Larry Lewis shared this in a 15-minute presentation he gave during the Brawley City Council’s regular meeting on Tuesday.
Lewis provided a summary of how PMHD has maneuvered through the COVID pandemic, and where it currently stands.
He said in March, Pioneers prepared for a surge by adding an additional 50 percent to its patient capacity. It went from eight intensive care unit beds all the way up to 32 beds. For negative air space beds, the district went from 29 up to 67 beds.
With all of its available resources, including tents, PMHD was capable of providing more than 170 patient beds, Lewis said. This capacity at no point was fully utilized, he said, even during the peak of the COVID surge.
In March, PMHD had only eight COVID patients admitted in the hospital. That number jumped to 21 patients in April and 69 in May.
“All of that was fueled by holidays and family gatherings, we believe,” Lewis added.
In June, the hospital had a total of 85 new admissions.
“And it just really grew to a dramatic situation where we were sending two patients a day for critical care out of the Valley,” the CEO said. “Because we couldn’t manage it all.”
Lewis said PMHD saw “kind of a leveling” in July, as the hospital transferred only two
COVID patients that month, compared to 76 patient transfers in June.
He said the district, meanwhile, took a precautionary step in July and contracted 20 critical care nurses, 10 medical-surgical nurses and four respiratory therapists to augment its staff on a temporary basis.
The state also provided the hospital with two additional intensivists.