Arizona has resources to staff potential coronavirus alternate care sites
Jun 20, 2020, 4:35 AM
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
PHOENIX — Arizona’s top public health official says the state has multiple resources to bring in additional health professionals to staff alternate care sites for coronavirus patients if needed.
Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ told 92.3 FM The Gaydos and Chad Show on Friday that they’re working with a company that would provide the staffing, equipment and run the alternative care site.
“There are several resources where we can pull in medical-licensed volunteers,” Christ said. “We have a statewide certification registration system where we can call up doctors, nurses, respiratory techs — all types of volunteers — and we can also make federal requests.”
With hospitals running out of space for coronavirus patients, St. Luke’s Medical Center might be reopened to provide additional bed space. The formerly shuttered hospital has been on standby in case the state needed additional beds.
The total of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients currently checked into Arizona’s hospitals increased Thursday to a high mark of 1,832, an increase of 165 over the previous day.
The increase in cases is a concern for doctors and nurses who are already stretched thin and opening another hospital to handle more coronavirus patients is raising concerns.
Banner Health has called down three nurses from Greeley, Colorado to Banner-University Medical Center in Phoenix to treat coronavirus patients.
Christ said the state can continue to see an increase in new cases for at least the next two weeks until new local measures like mask mandates start to take effect. Various municipalities, including Phoenix, instituted face-covering mandates this week for people in public depending on the city.
“It’s going to take a bit for these mitigation strategies to have an effect and start to lower the numbers, so we do anticipate continued high numbers,” Christ said.
Overall, hospital bed usage remained at a pandemic high of 85% on Thursday for the third consecutive day, and the percentage of ICU beds in use remained at a high point of 84% for the second consecutive day.
Of the state’s current cases, 21,769 are of people between the ages of 20 to 44 years old. Overall, only 31% are high risk, meaning they’re 65 years or older and have one or more chronic medical conditions.