UMass Memorial runs out of ICU beds as COVID cases rise
Photo | Grant Welker
UMass Memorial Medical Center's Memorial Campus in Worcester
UMass Memorial Health ran out of intensive care unit beds across its network on Thursday, the healthcare provider confirmed on Friday.
The entire UMass Memorial Health system includes UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, as well as hospitals in Southbridge, Leominster, Marlborough, and Clinton.
"We are currently facing a critical bed shortage in Central Massachusetts, which in good times, has 15%-20% less beds per capita than either eastern or western Mass," said Dr. Eric Dickson, president and CEO of UMass Memorial Health, in a statement. "The increase in COVID patients is having an impact as is the pent-up-demand for care created by patients forced to delay care during the previous two COVID surges. Additionally, there are fewer beds at skilled nursing facilities because they have lost staff and closed beds which is making it difficult for us to discharge patients. The nursing strake at Saint Vincent’s is also having negative effect."
UMass Memorial noted that ICU beds were at capacity across the Central Massachusetts region.
The announcement came just days after new guidance from the Gov. Charlie Baker Administration and the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association went into effect on Monday, instructing hospitals with limited capacity to reduce non-essential and non-urgent scheduled procedures to make room for emergency care.
The guidance was announced in response to staffing shortages, the subsequent loss of approximately 500 medical/surgical and ICU beds statewide, high hospital patient levels, and an anticipated increase in hospitalizations often seen between Thanksgiving and January, according to an announcement from Nov. 23.
At the same time, COVID-19 cases are increasing significantly statewide. On Wednesday, the Massachusetts Department of Health confirmed 4,838 new COVID-19 cases, and 25 COVID deaths, marking the highest COVID case numbers reached in one day in the state since Jan. 22.
President Joe Biden announced on Thursday a national plan for combating the spread of the virus, including requiring private insurers to cover at-home COVID-19 testing, calling on businesses to provide paid time off for employees to receive booster shots, and calling on companies to either require vaccinations or weekly staff testing.
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