ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — In Pinellas County, six out of the eleven hospitals with adult ICUs are completely full.
That is causing some county leaders to worry about the health of the county and what happens when bed space becomes even more limited.
Pinellas County Commissioner Pat Gerard said, "you know, I know that we've been talking about this since the very beginning. What are we going to do when it gets to this point?"
Those seeing shortages in ICU bed space include:
- Mease Countryside Hospital
- Northside Hospital
- St. Petersburg General Hospital
- Morton Plant Hospital
- Palms of Pasadena Hospital
- AdventHealth North Pinellas
According to the county’s COVID-19 tracking page, only 38 ICU beds remain available across the entire county as of July 3.
In order to free up more space, BayCare has made the decision to mainly stop non-emergency surgeries in Pinellas County next week. HCA hospitals are doing the same.
Full ICUs can be problematic for everyone who is seeking care.
"If you're having a heart attack, you want to be able to get to the nearest hospital as fast as you can. And if they have to send you down to the other end of the county, that's a huge problem for you," Gerard said.
According to Gerard, all hospitals in the county should have emergency COVID-19 plans in place, but that the county is not there yet.
“I don't know that we're at the stage of talking about you know, field hospitals and you know, refrigerated trucks and all that but-- they are thinking about those things because this is not slowing down," Gerard said.
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