Hollister, Calif.-based Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital is turning its ASC into an intensive care unit with 12 beds to handle COVID-19 cases, the BenitoLink reported Jan. 11.
The hospital completed a series of moves to increase its bed capacity by 96 percent. It added three more beds in the ICU and 21 beds in its medical/surgical unit. Additionally, Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital is converting portions of its Women's Center into patient care areas.
The California Department of Public Health granted the hospital permission to increase its bed count to 77 beds to handle the patient surge.
Additional staffing is also being made available to handle the surge.
Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital treated 21 COVID-19 patients on Jan. 11. The hospital currently has seven COVID-19 patients in its ICU, and all seven patients are on ventilators. The medical/surgical unit has 22 patients, with 12 of those patients being COVID-19 positive. The Women's Center has five moms and five babies.