Arkansas’s Covid patients now account for almost half of its adult intensive care unit beds. This is the highest rate in the country.
Up from 20 percent just four weeks ago, Mississippi’s adult ICU beds now have 42 percent Covid patients.
These are only two states where Covid patients are increasing in ICUs. According to NBC News’ analysis of data from Department of Health and Human Services, 14 states had devoted more that one-third of their ICU beds for Covid patients as of Friday February 4.
Hospital ICU stress is a measure that helps hospitals plan and manage their surge capacities. It was developed by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation of the University of Washington School of Medicine. This scale is calculated based on the percentage of ICU hospital beds occupied by Covid patients. Covid patients are occupying a smaller percentage of critical care beds in low-stress hospitals than they do in high-stress ones (30 to 59%).
These maps track the evolution of hospital ICU stress levels over time and show how they have changed. They will be regularly updated.
The ICU at Midstate Medical Center, Meriden, Connecticut is full. It can also send patients to other hospitals within its network, helping it to avoid being overwhelmed — so long as there are still open beds elsewhere.
Gary Havican (the president of the center) stated that staffing will be his main concern over the next weeks.
Havican stated in an email that “the surge is real.” “What’s making our volume so high is the fact that people with other medical conditions didn’t go to hospitals during the pandemic. All those who were unable to come in the first wave are now coming in — just as they should.
ICU stress is an addition to the IHME’s hospital stress level indicator, which measures the number of beds used by Covid patients. These patients require more resources, regardless of whether the patient was admitted for the disease or contracted it while in hospital. Dr. Ali Mokdad is a professor at the institute.
Mokdad stated in an email that ICU stress measurements may be more accurate to reflect hospital burden. It’s much easier for hospitals to increase their bed capacity than for ICUs.
