Holiday Strain: Fresno County Hospitals Reach Maximum Capacity
A number of hospitals in the Valley are nearly overflowing with patients.
Central California Emergency Medical Services and the Fresno County Public Health Department announced on Monday that the number of patients seeking care for non-urgent medical issues is overwhelming the county’s hospitals.
For some months now, the hospitals have been operating at capacities of 130% or 140%, and this percentage is still rising. It’s a serious issue, as Central California Emergency Medical Services’ Mato Parker put it.
According to health professionals, non-emergency ER wait times might potentially surpass 10 hours at present.
Several Valley hospitals are on the brink of bursting with too many patients:
Several Valley hospitals are on the brink of bursting with too many patients. https://t.co/PmK6TOTdT8 https://t.co/PmK6TOTdT8
— ABC30 Fresno (@ABC30) December 19, 2023
First responders are waiting up to two hours to drop off patients at the hospital, according to Parker, despite the fact that there is no wait time for how swiftly medics respond to emergency calls.
“Reserve the minor illness and the minor injuries for urgent cares, or telehealth or even their primary care physician,” Parker advised.
Some hospitals are reportedly keeping patients in emergency rooms for up to four days, and due to a lack of space, they are also utilizing non-patient facilities like conference rooms, according to the Fresno County Department of Public Health.
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A video from ABC30 Insider illustrates how busy Valley Children’s Hospital is. There were beds arranged down the corridor on Saturday.
The hospital’s doctors claim that the patient surge has been ongoing for some time.
“Since last month, we’ve seen a 17 percent increase in our emergency department visits. What that means is we’re seeing about 330 patients every single day in our emergency department,” physician Mariel Marquez of Valley Children’s Hospital explained.
This month, RSV and COVID-19 instances in children are increasing, according to Marquez.
“Previous units that were closed are now being opened. Our pediatrics ICU is seeing a lot of these respiratory complications as well, unfortunately,” Dr. Marquez stated.
Dr. Marquez requests that individuals try to avoid the hospital. Apart from saving time, you will also not be at risk of contracting any other illness during your stay in the hospital.
