Here's why experts are worried we won't have enough hospital beds to handle a surge of coronavirus patients
- The coronavirus pandemic is set to push the US healthcare system to its limits.
- In particular, US hospitals could start to run short on beds for patients who are being treated for the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease called COVID-19.
- The US has fewer hospital beds per 1,000 people compared to places like Japan, South Korea, and Italy that have also been hit hard by the virus.
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As the coronavirus spreads in the US, leaders are worried hospitals are going to start running out of beds.
By some estimates, millions of Americans sickened by coronavirus might end up in the hospital. Nearly 2 million could require care in an ICU.
Adding to the challenge, the US has fewer hospital beds per 1,000 people compared to places like Japan, South Korea, and Italy, according to data compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD.
By far, Japan and South Korea have the most beds per 1,000 people, while places like Canada and the UK have just a bit fewer than the US.
Finding space for critically ill patients
Not all hospital beds are created equal. Right now, hospitals need special rooms that can isolate people with contagious diseases like the coronavirus, known as negative pressure rooms. And intensive care unit rooms, where doctors provide advanced life-saving care, are also in demand amid the pandemic.
"There's beds, and then there's ICU beds in a negative pressure room," said Soumi Saha, a senior director of advocacy at Premier, which works with hospitals around the US.
To increase capacity, she said, EvergreenHealth in Kirkland, Washington, an early epicenter of the US COVID-19 outbreak, put 58 patients in 15 negative pressure rooms that typically hold one patient each. Premier is set to survey the hospitals it works with to get a sense of how much added ICU capacity each is able to make in light of the outbreak beyond their normal capacities.
Elsewhere, hospitals have been canceling elective procedures. On Wednesday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recommended limiting all non-essential procedures indefinitely.
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Dr. Craig Coopersmith, interim director of the Emory Critical Care Center, oversees 300 ICU beds. He told Business Insider in March that many ICUs around the country are full on any given day.
While hospitals can cancel surgeries and take other measures to free up space, a spreading coronavirus outbreak would stretch them to their limits, he said.
Are you experiencing shortages of hospital beds or equipment in your hospitals? Business Insider would love to hear from you. Contact the reporter at lramsey@businessinsider.com.
- Read more:
- A report that helped convince Trump to take coronavirus seriously projected that 2.2 million people could die in the US if we don't act
- 'We're going to have a real problem': New York's governor warns that the coronavirus pandemic could overwhelm hospitals
- Hospitals across the US are canceling procedures to make room for a potential surge of coronavirus patients
- One chart explains why Disneyland, Broadway, and sports arenas are all going dark to stop the coronavirus epidemic
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