Imperial County Hospitals At Capacity: RivCo Takes COVID Patients

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Dozens of coronavirus patients from Imperial County have been transferred to local medical facilities in an effort to help alleviate a hospital surge in the neighboring county.

Fifty-one patients were transferred from Imperial County hospitals and another 12 people from the county walked into Riverside County hospitals recently, said Bruce Barton, director of the Riverside County Emergency Management Department. Riverside County Board of Supervisors Chair V. Manuel Perez also announced publicly that the patients were being transferred.

Imperial County has only two hospitals, which have reached their capacity of coronavirus patients, according to Barton.

Imperial County reports 1,352 COVID-19 cases, with 619 active cases. The death toll stands at 24. While the numbers may seem low compared to Riverside County, Imperial County has 69 hospitalized COVID-19 patients and six others who are hospitalized and suspected of having the virus. Yet within the county's two hospitals there are just 23 beds to handle a surge — three of which are already being used, according to Imperial County data.

“Riverside County and Imperial County have a long history of working together on the Salton Sea, agriculture, education, and we are partners in the fight against this pandemic,” Perez said. “It is fortunate that we have the hospital space to assist our neighbors in Imperial County. It shows how important these hospital beds are and how we need to keep our hospital space available for surges that could come.”

Barton said the capacity of the Riverside County hospital system has been impacted by the Imperial County transfers, but the increase remains within the capacity of the local health system. His department, along with hospital, other county and state officials are closely monitoring the situation, he said.

“The goal of the state’s regional distribution plan is to assure these patients receive needed care and are appropriately distributed across Southern California hospitals so that no single county is disproportionately impacted,” Barton said.

Hospitals in neighboring counties have also received Imperial County patients, according to Barton.

As of Wednesday, there were 207 coronavirus patients hospitalized in Riverside County, including 68 in ICU. There have been 7,252 confirmed cases and 309 COVID-19-related deaths.