California learns costly pandemic lesson about hospitals

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California spent astir $200 cardinal to acceptable up, run and unit alternate attraction sites that yet provided small assistance erstwhile the state's worst coronavirus surge spiraled retired of power past winter, forcing exhausted infirmary workers to dainty patients successful tents and cafeterias.

It was a costly mode to larn California's infirmary strategy is acold much elastic than was thought astatine the commencement of the pandemic. Through desperation and innovation, the strategy was capable to grow capable to accommodate patients adjacent during the dire surge that saw hospitalizations apical 20,000 and astir 700 radical dice weekly.

“Definitely immoderate hospitals, peculiarly successful the Los Angeles area, were astatine the breaking point, but we did not spot that overmuch usage of the alternate attraction sites comparative to what was contemplated," said Janet Coffman, a wellness argumentation prof astatine University of California, San Francisco. "As dire arsenic the concern was successful the winter, it could person been adjacent worse.”

Ad

In the aboriginal weeks of the pandemic, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered alternate attraction sites beryllium acceptable up successful a erstwhile nonrecreational hoops arena, 2 authorities centers that usually dainty radical with developmental and intelligence disabilities, and different facilities.

It was portion of an aboriginal program to adhd an other 66,000 infirmary beds arsenic California prepared for a projected crushing load of COVID-19 patients, 1 of galore steps taken by the politician arsenic helium imposed the nation's archetypal statewide lockdown.

Ultimately, the authorities spent $43 cardinal to acceptable up 8 sites, $48 cardinal to prosecute declaration employees and $96 cardinal to run them nether a scaled-back plan, according to tallies that The Associated Press requested from the departments of Finance and General Services and the Health and Human Services Agency.

The sites treated a combined 3,582 patients, records show, but fractional were during the archetypal 3 months of the pandemic erstwhile the fig of infections was inactive debased and, arsenic it turned out, the accepted infirmary strategy could person handled them connected its own. The sites reopened successful aboriginal December, treating less patients during the adjacent 3 months adjacent though galore hospitals were overflowing.

Ad

The accepted infirmary strategy squeaked done the worst of the pandemic with small overflow into the alternate attraction sites due to the fact that the authorities temporarily eased nurse-to-patient staffing ratios — designed to support the sick and their caretakers — and due to the fact that of a scramble to bring successful impermanent extracurricular workers, said Stephanie Roberson, authorities relations manager of the California Nurses Association.

Brian Ferguson, a spokesperson for the authorities Office of Emergency Services, said officials learned that it is amended to align the state's efforts with existing wellness attraction facilities than to acceptable up makeshift, standalone hospitals.

For instance, 2 vacant hospitals reopened during a surge past summer, 1 each successful Northern and Southern California, arsenic the astir populous authorities overtook New York for the astir cases successful the nation. But it didn't usage them again during the wintertime surge, choosing alternatively to enactment much intimately with existing hospitals.

Ad

Similarly, Newsom successful aboriginal April 2020 announced Sleep Train Arena, the erstwhile location of the NBA's Sacramento Kings, would beryllium turned into a 400-bed hospital. It coiled up treating conscionable 9 patients implicit 10 weeks due to the fact that existing hospitals successful the portion handled different cases.

The authorities ne'er reopened that main arena erstwhile the microorganism surged again astir Thanksgiving but alternatively treated 232 patients successful the overmuch smaller adjacent signifier facility.

“If you look successful hindsight, you could say, ‘Well, we could person utilized the wealth that we spent to rent Sleep Train and we could person enactment it backmost into the infirmary strategy oregon we could person enactment it into procuring PPE (personal protective equipment) oregon immoderate fig of things,’” Roberson said. “But these are lessons learned.”

She added: “As we determination forward, we person to instrumentality a look astatine each of these missteps and bash better.”

Officials learned to beryllium much flexible successful opening and shutting the facilities and to “quickly pivot the tract to person further worth oregon purpose” if it wasn't needed for patients, Ferguson said.

Ad

For example, the surge centers each unopen down by March arsenic the worst corruption question abated. But 2 were shifted to different pandemic-related duties — 1 was utilized for coronavirus investigating and the different was utilized for antibody infusion treatments.

Similarly, contracts for traveling aesculapian workers aboriginal successful the pandemic required that they enactment astatine the alternate attraction sites adjacent if they were not often needed. But the contracts during the wintertime surge were rewritten truthful that “in instances wherever they were nary longer needed, you could rapidly determination them to a hospital” oregon to different duties similar administering vaccinations, Ferguson said.

State officials had planned to trust much connected the recently formed California Health Corps of aesculapian professionals, peculiarly aft 95,000 radical initially answered Newsom's telephone for volunteers.

But lone a fraction really qualified oregon signed up.

“When the wellness corps didn’t cookware retired arsenic was hoped, travelers were the adjacent champion alternative,” said Coffman, who studies the wellness attraction workforce. “Yes, declaration travelers are expensive, but astatine slightest you person assurance this is idiosyncratic we tin number connected to instrumentality bully attraction of patients, to person the skills that are needed.”

Ad

California spent $612 cardinal for declaration aesculapian employees and $2.2 cardinal for the wellness corps, astir of which it hopes to recoup from the national authorities oregon the facilities wherever they worked.

The authorities budgeted $74.5 cardinal for the fiscal twelvemonth that started this period to screen late-arriving bills oregon if determination is different surge that requires the authorities to ramp up again.

“If things were to instrumentality a crook for the worse — chiefly delta variant ... we inactive privation to beryllium capable to determination quickly,” said H.D. Palmer, spokesperson for the California Department of Finance.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.