Rhode Island Hospitals At 97% Of Coronavirus Capacity

PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island's coronavirus hospital beds are currently at 97 percent capacity, Gov. Gina Raimondo said Thursday, meaning the first of two field hospitals is expected to be needed within two weeks.

The field hospital in Cranston will be operational by next week, Raimondo said. It will be needed by the week after Thanksgiving according to the most recent projections. The field hospital at the Rhode Island Convention Center will be ready for use by Dec. 1.

In total, the two field hospitals will add 900 additional hospital beds for COVID-19 patients.

Certain "triggers" are in place that will begin sending patients to the field hospitals. The final decision to do so lies with Lifespan and Care New England, Raimondo said. They will be funded by a portion of the state's remaining federal coronavirus stimulus money.

The field hospitals will be used to avoid bed rationing in existing hospitals and the need to stop offering elective and non-emergency procedures, the governor said. If the field hospitals become full, hospitals will have to move to "crisis standards of care," clearing out as many non-coronavirus patients as possible.

"You don't want to be there," Raimondo said. "This is going to be really hard."

While there are sufficient facilities in the state, staffing shortages continue to be a problem in Rhode Island and across the country, Raimondo said. If the state has to pivot to crisis care plans, staffing strains will get even more pronounced and require additional sources such as students, reassigning staff and onboarding new people as quickly as possible.

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