As the surge in COVID-19 patients strains medical resources to the breaking point, two hospitals in San Bernardino County are getting help from the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force to augment personnel and provide solutions for a dwindling oxygen supply.
First, the 456-bed Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, operated by the county, has received 17 medically trained service men and women flown in from bases around the country on Dec. 29. These include: four physicians, two respiratory therapists and 11 nurses, said Justine Rodriguez, marketing and public relations director for the hospital on Tuesday, Jan. 5.
“Yes, they are here,” she said. “They are helping out in our COVID and ICU units.”
The large county hospital has about 150 people hospitalized due to the virus. The county has 213,357 confirmed cases, up about 5% Tuesday from Monday’s total. Of those, 1,763 are currently hospitalized throughout the county, according to the county Department of Public Health.
At San Antonio Regional Hospital in Upland, the surge has resulted in the highest census of COVID-19 patients of any hospital in the county, about 224, according to the latest data from county health dated Dec. 28.
The spike in cases and patients, which began to rise sharply in late November, has filled all 35 ICU beds, forcing the hospital to convert another 70 rooms into ICU beds, said John Chapman, president and CEO.
In anticipation of the next surge, Chapman asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for help finding ways to fortify its supply and delivery of oxygen, greatly needed by patients suffering respiratory distress. In the worst cases, the virus affects the lungs and decreases breathing, he said.
A team of Army Corps engineers paid a visit on Jan. 1, assessing the Upland hospital’s oxygen delivery infrastructure. “Their system is very overburdened,” said Mike Petersen, chief of public affairs for the Army Corps’ South Pacific Division.
The team’s assessment, completed around Jan. 3, was sent to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
One issue that hospitals, particularly those with aging infrastructure, are facing is the ability to deliver high-pressure oxygen to patients. In some instances, piping oxygen to patients on higher floors is a challenge due to a lack of pressure.
“We are looking at oxygen distribution systems that have been badly overtaxed and struggling and seeing how to add capacity,” Petersen said.
Chapman is hoping FEMA will help supply the hospital with independent oxygen concentrators that are used with portable oxygen tanks. Concentrators are small units that patients can take home that provide supplemental oxygen.
By providing home oxygen support, patients can continue their recovery from home, thereby freeing up beds for other patients who need to be hospitalized.
The Army Corps has evaluated the oxygen supplies at 11 Southern California hospitals as of Monday, Jan. 4, according to Petersen.
Those hospitals included: Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles, Beverly Hospital in Montebello, Emanate Health Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina, Lakewood Regional Medical Center in Lakewood, Mission Community Hospital in Panorama City, PIH Health Hospital in Downey and PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance and Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank.
San Antonio Regional Hospital in Upland was the only hospital in San Bernardino County evaluated. Chapman said he wasn’t aware of other hospitals in the Inland Empire that asked for help from FEMA, who sent the Army Corps of Engineers.
Petersen said no additional hospital in California has made a request for assistance as of Tuesday afternoon.
In addition, Chapman is working with SARH’s private vendors to provide vaporizers, devices that increase the oxygen flow by 15% to 20% per patient.
By improving its oxygen supplies and delivery mechanisms, SARH will have more flexibility in treating COVID patients and will avoid rationing oxygen, a worst-case scenario, he said.
“Our goal is to try to maximize our oxygen capacity where we will never get to having to make life and death decisions for patients,” Chapman said.
Staff writer Linh Tat contributed to this article.