State officials announced 244 new positive coronavirus cases yesterday, bringing the total to 1,007. One new death was reported, making the total 13, according to the Florida Department of Health. Escambia and Santa Rosa counties have four cases each, Okaloosa County 14 cases. Florida currently has more than 18,000 hospital beds available, including nearly 1,700 adult intensive care unit beds, per the DOH.
At Friday’s county commission meeting, West Florida Hospital Gay Nord told commissioner that her hospital has “about six patients that were vented.”
“The total number of ICU beds the hospital operates today is 32,” she said. “We could actually go to potentially 50 capacity, and we are continuing to build plans around actually extending or expanding that capacity as we speak.”
When asked by Commissioner Jeff Bergosh, Nord said all 32 ICU beds were currently occupied.
Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital president Dawn Rudolph said her facility had 111 ventilators, but only 34 currently were configured for adults.
“We have ventilators for our NICU, our pediatric population, transport ventilators, adult ventilators, bi-paps, inhalation machines,” she said.
Bergosh asked, “Can any of those others be repurposed?
“Yes, absolutely,” replied Rudolph.
“So 111 is the answer. ”
“111 is my answer,” confirmed Rudolph, who added that 63 were currently being utilized. Eight of the 34 adult ventilators were being used as of Friday a.m.
She was encouraging about increasing ICU beds.
“Our ICU suites are determined by our licensing, so on any given day we have 34 adult beds at Sacred Heart,” Rudolph told the commissioners. “Within 12-24 hours, we have the availability to expand 24 more, that could be a PACU (post-anesthesia care unit) area. That could be other areas where we have those capabilities to provide ICU care. Within 72 hours we’re looking at hoping to expand that capacity even further.”
Baptist Health Care CEO Mark Faulkner answered question about ventilators: “We have 30 vents, 16 are in use right now.”
Quick math: Escambia County has about 147 ventilators – although it’s unclear exactly how many West Florida has since she only gave current patient number. Â Of the 147 ventilators, 85 were being used last Friday.
“We have 40 ICU beds, and the ability to float PACU, which we’re working on,” said Faulkner, “with anesthesia machines we have 30 vents, like I said.”
Quick math:Â As last Friday, Escambia County had 106 ICU beds, but the hospitals have the ability to convert post-anesthesia care unit beds to ICU beds.