Columbus Regional Hospital announced Tuesday that it has opened an overflow intensive care unit to handle an influx of patients that has been pushing the hospital’s ICU to capacity for weeks.
The additional unit, housed in part of the cardiac catheterization area on the second floor of the hospital, was officially opened Monday, with three patients being treated there as of Tuesday morning, the hospital said.
“As the latest surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continues, the decision to open a second ICU space was made due to the consistently high numbers of inpatients needing critical care resources such as staffing, hospital beds and specialized equipment,” CRH said in a statement.
The announcement from CRH came as hospitals across the state continue to take the brunt of a statewide surge in infections and hospitalizations spurred by the more contagious delta variant, The Associated Press reported.
It also came days after the hospital system suspended all non-emergency surgeries and procedures to conserve staff and resources due to the continued surge in hospitalizations. CRH’s decision followed similar announcements by Schneck Medical Center in Seymour and Indiana University Health, the largest hospital system in the state.
The latest update from the Indiana Department of Health showed that 2,687 Hoosiers were hospitalized for COVID-19 on Monday, up from 371 on July 3.
Additionally, just 18% of ICU beds in the state were available Monday, down from 38% on July 3. During that time period, COVID-19 patients went from occupying 3% of ICU beds in the state to about 33%.
As patient admissions spike to levels not recorded since last winter’s surge, some hospitals have started diverting ambulances away from their emergency rooms and intensive care units, according to wire reports.
The strain is being felt by hospitals across the state and much of the country and has “severely limited” the local hospital system’s ability to transfer in and out of CRH and other area facilities, CRH officials said.
Last month alone, 891 residents of Bartholomew, Jackson and Jennings counties with COVID-19 visited a hospital emergency room, resulting in 115 hospitalizations and at least 22 deaths.
“The health system will do all it can within its power to continue to respond to and address the health care needs of the communities we serve,” CRH said. “We ask our community to please, be careful and cautious, get vaccinated and wear a mask.”
