People are waiting in emergency rooms, fewer ambulances are available at times for 911 calls and intensive care units are filled to capacity as hospitals in Ventura County care for near-record numbers of patients.
The surge is driven in part by flu and other respiratory illnesses. Public health officials also caution people about outbreaks of norovirus, a highly contagious gastrointestinal illness that is also dubbed the stomach flu. medical care bed
The rising patient numbers emerged more than a month ago and may be starting to subside but are still bringing crowds to the region’s eight hospitals, according to Ventura County Emergency Medical Services officials.
They said that on Thursday the hospitals together reported only 68 available beds. Some emergency rooms have been seeing unprecedented numbers and intensive care units have been hit hard. The hospitals reported only three available ICU beds for adults across the county.
The tallies are deceptive because hospitals use beds in other units when intensive care units are filled, but they show the magnitude of the surge.
“The numbers are definitely showing (hospitals) are seeing a similar volume as during COVID,” said Steve Carroll, administrator for Ventura County Emergency Medical Services, referring to the unprecedented flood of patients that stretched resources during the height of the pandemic.
Hospitals offered assurances they are adapting and providing necessary care.
“Our team is actively monitoring the situation, and we have surge plans in place should we need to implement them,” said Megan Merino, spokesperson at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks. “As always, we are prepared and readily available to care for the health care needs of our community.”
County EMS officials said crowded emergency rooms mean delays for patients arriving in ambulances, especially at Los Robles and St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, the county’s two biggest hospitals in terms of patient volumes.
In some hospitals, the wait times also affect people in the emergency room who need to be admitted. There have been reports of people in hallway gurneys waiting 10 hours or longer for beds to open at Los Robles.
Merino said wait times fluctuate depending on factors, including the severity of an illness or injury and whether the emergency room is also dealing with traumatic injuries from a car accident or a similar incident.
She also expressed optimism the tide is turning, noting that Los Robles ER numbers have stabilized over the last 10 days.
Some hospitals said they are busy but not overflowing. Meena Ahmadzai, spokesperson for Adventist Health Simi Valley, said the hospital is at 70% to 75% of capacity — normal for this time of year.
St. John’s in Oxnard and Camarillo declined to answer questions about patient levels.
When hospital emergency rooms are full, they may be placed on diversion, meaning ambulances are sent elsewhere. Carroll said the countywide rise in patient volumes means all the hospitals are on diversion. In that scenario, emergency rooms continue to accept ambulances because there is nowhere else to send them.
The delays mean it takes longer for hospitals to assume care of patients arriving in ambulances. The wait times can mean less ambulances that are available for emergency calls, Carroll said
“That offload time does impact the 911 system. It does have a domino effect,” he said.
Emergency rooms across the county say they’ve seen a significant increase in patients with flu symptoms. Some patients who need to be admitted are older, have 103-degree fevers and are vomiting, said Dr. Neil Canby, emergency room physician at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura.
He said the hospital is also seeing some norovirus illness and a relatively small amount of COVID-19.
“Our volumes are definitely up," he said Thursday of emergency room traffic. "A busy day would be 180 to 200 (patients). We’re routinely over 200 on most days.”
Dr. Uldine Castel, Ventura County health officer, urged people to get vaccinated for the flu, asserting that it's not too late.
She also noted that norovirus has caused concern. Though it's known as the stomach flu, the illness is not related to influenza and instead is a gastrointestinal virus that causes inflammation of the stomach or intestines.
Symptoms include stomach pain, headaches, nausea and diarrhea. It is highly contagious and is responsible for more than half of the nation's foodborne illnesses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At least eight outbreaks, meaning two or more cases in the same region, were reported across Ventura County in January, Castel said.
At Ventura Unified School District, norovirus information was sent to student families and staff members last month. The messages urged frequent hand washing and asked people with symptoms to take steps to prevent the spread of the illness.
“Any student/staff experiencing vomiting or diarrhea should stay home and should not participate in group activities or in school for a minimum of 48 hours after symptoms have ended,” said a post on the district’s Facebook page in late January.
Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com.
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