Glenbrook Hospital Beds Filling Up With COVID-19 Patients

GLENVIEW, IL —With a dramatic surge in hospitalizations due to the omicron variant, hospitals like NorthShore Glenbrook have been temporarily converted into all inpatient COVID-19 care settings. Of 173 beds at the hospital, 131 are currently occupied by COVID-19 patients as of Tuesday morning, according to hospital officials. Sixteen are being treated in the hospital's intensive care unit. The new policy went into effect on Jan. 1.

"I would say that we have some capacity for more COVID patients, but again, the situation remains fluid," Jim Anthony, senior director of public relations for NorthShore University HealthSystem, told Patch.

Glenbrook's main ICU unit can care for up to 21 patients, but Anthony said the hospital is physically configured in such a way that allows it to modify space to accommodate more critical care patients. The hospital has the capacity to adjust the airflow in large portions of the building.

Since Jan. 1, Glenbrook is averaging 125 COVID-19 inpatients per day.

RELATED: Pritzker Says 'Frighteningly Limited' ICU Beds In IL As COVID Surges

On Monday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said bed availability is in the single digits in three Illinois regions. That includes Region 7, encompassing Will and Kankakee counties, which had just six available ICU beds and was at 95 percent ICU capacity as of Monday.

Statewide, 316 of the 2,977 ICU beds were available on Monday afternoon. A total of 1,086, or more than a third of those in the ICU, are COVID-19 patients, according to state health data.

More than 650 of those hospitalized with COVID-19 are on ventilators, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported.

Anthony said Glenbrook is working with its teams at Evanston, Highland Park and Skokie Hospitals to safely and seamlessly transfer non-COVID patients from Glenbrook who are still in need of inpatient care.

"COVID positivity rates in our communities are climbing, and we are experiencing dramatic increase in COVID acute care needs," Gabrielle Cummings, president at Highland Park Hospital, said Monday during a press conference with Pritzker.

Cummings said cases have spiked over 200 percent at the four NorthShore University HealthSystem (Evanston, Skokie, Glenbrook and Highland Park). That number represents an increase from 46 patients to more than 138 since the first week in December. She added that the overwhelming majority of these patients are unvaccinated.

NorthShore has suspended all non-emergent elective procedures through Jan. 14.

Glenbrook’s Emergency Department will continue to treat all patients who walk through our doors. The hospital also continues to see patients for outpatient services such as radiology and lab testing, according to Anthony.

Illinois has been averaging around 23,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, according to IDPH data. Last week, the state exceeded 30,000 cases in a single day, breaking a previous record.

On Monday, IDPH reported 20,866 new cases coming out of another holiday weekend, when testing tends to lag, along with 30 deaths. The statewide positivity rate stands at 12.8 percent.

Last week, Illinois pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations were up 38 percent.

RELATED: 'Ongoing Influx' At North Shore Hospitals Expected Through Month