SLO County prepares 1,000 extra hospital beds for coronavirus pandemic: ‘We’re not waiting’
San Luis Obispo County’s emergency response team is working to make 1,000 additional hospital beds available to prepare for if — or when — the coronavirus pandemic peaks on the Central Coast.
“We have been aggressively moving forward on this issue,” county emergency response director Wade Horton said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. “We have not waited for the governor. We have not waited on the federal government. We have leaned way forward on this.”
Public health officer Penny Borenstein said the county is weeks, or longer, from hitting the peak number of cases in the county.
Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced a need for 50,000 additional hospital beds across California and millions of supplies for personal protective equipment, such as gowns, gloves and masks, in response to COVID-19.
“As a consequence of updating our models, we are looking to significantly increase our procurement of assets, specifically beds, throughout our healthcare delivery system,” Newsom said Monday night.
San Luis Obispo County currently has 403 beds in four hospitals, 56 of which are for intensive care.
The county response team is working closely with Tenet Health Central Coast and Dignity Health to expand capacity for overflow. Tenet owns Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo and Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton, while Dignity Health owns Arroyo Grande Community Hospital and French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo.
Officials are now in the midst of planning to transform the Cal Poly Recreation Center into an alternative care site for additional beds. A team of county officials, private engineers, architects and doctors assessed that location Monday to determine what is needed, Horton said.
In addition, “we are aggressively looking for all sources of personal protective equipment and key critical equipment we will need to operate that site,” he said.
The county has been ahead of the curve for securing some of the essential equipment. Already, the county purchased 100 additional ventilators needed to treat the most severe cases of coronavirus.
On Monday night, the response team was able to secure a supplier with ties to the Central Coast that will be able to source personal protective equipment for healthcare workers.
San Luis Obispo County is working with local manufacturers to fill the gaps. A manufacturer in North County is retooling its assembly line to produce hospitals gowns, Horton said.
“We’re not waiting. I want the public to know that we’re not waiting, hoping that the state is going to come in and help us out. We being very, very proactive,” Horton said. “We are preparing to keep our community safe, to protect our community. In the case that COVID-19 hits us we want to be prepared and make sure we can take care of people.”
“This is an all-hands-on-deck effort right now,” he said.
That’s why minding the shelter-at-home order is so important, Horton added, “because everybody needs to do their part so we can protect the community.”
