Virtua Prepared For COVID-19 Hospital Overload, Official Says

Recent data shows that hospitals in New Jersey are at-risk for overcrowded Intensive Care Units (ICUs) as the daily number of coronavirus cases in New Jersey peaks at 6,000 since the pandemic began.

Virtua Health Care is prepared for that possibility, Virtua Health Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jennifer Khelil said on Friday.

“Our hospitals are very busy,” Khelil said during a news conference. “We are very fortunate that in the spring, we put into place detailed surge plans. We can flex beds up or down based on patient care needs.”

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She said that means Virtua has the ability to add beds in ICUs as needed, and remove them when they aren’t needed. Right now, Virtua has capacity in all its ICUs, she said.

Covid Act Now a research group that draws data from The New York Times, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and state and county dashboards, says the Garden State has reached the critical stage in two metrics: daily new cases per population and ICU headroom.

New Jersey has about 833 ICU beds and, based on best available data, the group of data experts estimates that 36 percent (300) are currently occupied by non-COVID patients.

Of the 533 ICU beds remaining, 630 are needed for COVID patients, or 100 percent of available beds. This suggests hospitals cannot absorb a wave of new COVID infections without substantial surge capacity.

"Aggressive action urgently needed," the nonprofit said. Read more here: NJ At ‘High Risk’ Of COVID-19 Hospital Overload, New Data Shows

With reporting by Russ Crespolini