{"id":36475,"date":"2020-12-06T09:44:12","date_gmt":"2020-12-06T16:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=36475"},"modified":"2021-03-31T15:18:50","modified_gmt":"2021-03-31T21:18:50","slug":"racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\/","title":{"rendered":"Racing to add extra ICU beds as COVID-19 patient surge tests hospitals, providers"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"Facilities
Facilities workers at UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central remove windows in the building to provide enhanced ventilation in rooms needed for a projected surge in COVID-19 patients. Photo: Cary Vogrin, UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s a crisp December morning when a semi-truck backs up to a loading dock at UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central in Colorado Springs.<\/p>\n

The back doors of the truck swing open. Inside, a dozen ICU hospital beds wrapped in plastic are ready to be unloaded. Later that day, two more trucks are coming, bringing a total of 30 beds with jelly-like mattresses to provide optimal care and comfort for patients.<\/p>\n

Across UCHealth, extraordinary preparation has been underway to care for a surge of COVID-19 patients, and anyone else who has a serious medical issue. UCHealth has about 411 people hospitalized, up significantly from the peak of 263 patients in the spring. Based on prediction models, the number of people currently hospitalized could double in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are on the brink of a controlled crisis,\u201d said Cathy Ehrenfeucht, vice president of operations and capacity at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital.<\/p>\n

At Memorial Hospital Central<\/a>, the flurry of activity on the dock – delivery of more beds, equipment and supplies – is a fraction of a herculean effort underway. Nothing says these are not normal times quite like the view from the east side of Memorial, where windows have been removed in patient rooms to quickly convert them into rooms for more COVID-19 patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat our facilities crews have done is they\u2019ve removed the smaller windows,\u2019\u2019 says Merle Taylor, chief operating officer at Memorial. \u201cIn order to ensure safe airflow in rooms where COVID-19 positive patients are being cared for, we removed windows and added a machine that filters the air and removes it through the new openings. This helps to\u00a0increase air recycling, keeping the room at negative air pressure, which minimizes exposure to staff and visitors.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Additional
Beds for ICU patients are in a warehouse at Memorial Hospital Central. The beds will be cleaned, examined by clinical engineers and moved to patient rooms to accommodate a projected surge in COVID-19 patients. Photo: Cary Vogrin, UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All of this effort is aimed to meet a projected surge in patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure that we\u2019re meeting the needs of every individual and our community, not only in Colorado Springs but across Colorado,\u2019\u2019 Taylor said.<\/p>\n

Planning for what Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation\u2019s leading infectious disease doctor, calls a \u201csurge upon a surge,<\/a>\u2019\u2019 has been ongoing since March at UCHealth. And for the most part, that planning is about math.<\/p>\n

Larry Tremel is Memorial Hospital\u2019s pharmacy director, but these days he doubles as a logistics chief, assessing every need. He knows that for each additional bed needed, there\u2019s a cascade of more needs: pumps, IV poles, monitors, food, cleaning supplies and more. And, of course, frontline caregivers: doctors, nurses, care techs, environmental services personnel, to name a few.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe assess our need for everything from toilet paper to Remdesivir<\/a>,\u2019\u2019 the anti-viral drug given to COVID-19 patients, Tremel said.<\/p>\n

Asked whether, in his 36-year career, he\u2019s seen such an effort, he answers succinctly: \u201cNever.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Is there anything to compare it to?<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Beyond COVID-19, UCHealth hospitals are still caring for many other patients, too. Patients arrive every day with broken bones or allergic reactions. Some surgeries and non-life threatening procedures are being rescheduled, though anyone in an emergency situation, or having a cardiac, neurologic, trauma, orthopedic or oncology emergency \u2013 as always \u2013 is a priority.<\/p>\n

\u201cMembers of our community need care and we will make sure we are here to provide it safely,\u201d Ehrenfeucht said.<\/p>\n

UCHealth hospitals have redeployed many clinicians to the front lines. Nurses who may have worked in a non-clinical role, or in outpatient clinics, are receiving just-in-time training as they are deployed to the bedside working as a team partner with inpatient nurses. Employees who work in non-clinical jobs are supporting the deployment of staff, equipment and supplies,\u00a0perhaps serving in roles they haven\u2019t served in before, to support those on the front line.<\/p>\n

Patti Loper, a registered nurse for 23 years, has switched from her usual job as a clinical quality care specialist, a desk job at Memorial focused on maintaining quality care, to units throughout the hospital, including the COVID-19 ICU<\/a>. She is among dozens of nurses at Memorial who are part of the \u201cHelping Hands\u2019\u2019 program, an \u201call hands on deck\u2019\u2019 effort to support inpatient RNs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a whirlwind. We coordinated pretty quickly,\u2019\u2019 Loper said. \u201cThey asked us to help and we jumped in. They asked what areas we felt comfortable working in, and I am an ED nurse by training, so I asked for ED, critical care and acute care areas.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\"A
Patti Loper, a registered nurse who usually works a desk job aimed at maintaining high-quality care, has been deployed to patient care units to help with patient care as the hospital sees more COVID-19 patients than ever before. Photo: Cary Vogrin, UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even for a seasoned nurse, the sight of so many patients intubated and on ventilators, all with a significant need for oxygen, was jolting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt shook me,\u2019\u2019 Loper said. \u201cThey are very sick patients. They are some of the sickest patients I\u2019ve seen in my career. Another thing that shook me a little bit, we have patients in their 30s; patients in their 50s and elderly patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cI commented to the other nurses about the younger people, and they said, \u2018Yep, COVID doesn\u2019t care. It doesn\u2019t discriminate.\u2019 \u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

During another shift on a medical floor where patients were not intubated and able to speak, some apologized to her for needing care.<\/p>\n

\u201cPatients are concerned that they are putting us at risk, and it is really sweet. But I told each one, \u2018You know what? We\u2019re going to take care of you, regardless. This is what we do.\u2019\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

People like Loper are everywhere at UCHealth, willing to step up for what surely will be the most remarkable period of their careers. It is an iron-clad dedication to duty \u2013 and humans in need \u2013 that bolsters them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re the last stop for so many people,\u2019\u2019 Taylor says. \u201cIn this region, we\u2019re the Level I Trauma Center and so many hospitals rely on us. We\u2019re it. And we have to be the ones. We have open arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd while we\u2019re all a little tired, we keep doing it because we know that if we don\u2019t do it, nobody else is going to be able to do it for them.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

At a time when many people are struggling emotionally and financially, the health and well-being of those heroes on the front line has never been more important. To show gratitude, UCHealth is providing free meals to employees during the height of this surge. Thank-you notes are posted in hallways. The internal website shares heartfelt notes of gratitude from some of the more than 4,000 people who have been well enough to leave the hospitals since March after treatment for COVID-19.<\/p>\n

At Memorial, crews are planning an employee respite room \u2013 a darkened space with soothing music, essential oils and a waterfall feature to give frontline employees, a resilient bunch, the chance to take a breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re learning, actually, is that there is some revitalization,\u2019\u2019 Taylor said. \u201cWhat a lot of people are saying is: \u2018This is why I actually got into nursing. I\u2019m doing more, I\u2019m coming back to my calling. We have a lot of nurses expressing that.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Derek
Derek Susa, an associate clinical engineer at UCHealth Memorial Hospital, moves an ICU bed to a warehouse, where it will be cleaned and examined before being sent to a room for the surge of COVID-19 patients. Photo: Cary Vogrin, UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At University of Colorado Hospital<\/a>, Ehrenfeucht, known for an incredibly positive outlook, pandemic or not, loves to ask for collective \u2018whoop whoops\u2019 when a project is completed. There are plenty of them these days. She ends meetings by having staff share wins. So many times, the \u2018whoop whoops\u2019 come because a patient has come off of a ventilator, or become well enough to leave the hospital.<\/p>\n

Taylor recalls lining the hallway with other colleagues last spring, when a survivor of COVID-19, a woman who had been in the hospital for four weeks, was being wheeled out of Memorial.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember what she said when she was being wheeled out. She said, \u2018I didn\u2019t think I was ever going to get out of here. And I can see my sister again.\u2019 And her sister was waiting at the end of the ramp.\u2018\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s really meaningful for us,\u2019\u2019 Taylor said. \u201cThat touched a lot of us.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Taylor said that one of the reasons he works so hard is because the mission at UCHealth resonates with him. It\u2019s simple: \u201cImprove lives.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re opening our capacity so that we can take care of more people, and if we\u2019re opening our capacity so we can be a referral center for all of our hospitals in the region who don\u2019t have the resources to do it, then we are improving people\u2019s lives,\u2019\u2019 Taylor said.<\/p>\n

The next few weeks, more people than ever are expected in hospitals across the state.<\/p>\n

At UCHealth, more trucks will be pulling up the docks to unload supplies. More beds, medications and food will come. The facilities team may need to remove a few more windows.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever it takes to take care of anyone in a bed, that\u2019s what will happen,\u2019\u2019 Taylor said.<\/p>\n

UCHealth Today writer Molly Blake contributed to this story.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a crisp December morning when a semi-truck backs up to a loading dock at UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central in Colorado Springs. The back doors of the truck swing open. Inside, a dozen ICU hospital beds wrapped in plastic are ready to be unloaded. Later that day, two more trucks are coming, bringing a total […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":36478,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4859,4860],"class_list":["post-36475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid-19"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHospitals & providers race to increase ICU beds as COVID-19 cases grow<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"To meet the needs during a surge of COVID-19 patients, hospitals are assessing everything from ICU bed and IV poles, to doctors and nurses.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Racing to add extra ICU beds as COVID-19 patient surge tests hospitals, providers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"To meet the needs during a surge of COVID-19 patients, hospitals are assessing everything from ICU bed and IV poles, to doctors and nurses.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UCHealth Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-06T16:44:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-31T21:18:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/12\/05093015\/capacityphoto.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Erin Emery, UCHealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erin Emery, UCHealth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Erin Emery, UCHealth\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f989ee92cb6da7cfb7f697db1c6771b3\"},\"headline\":\"Racing to add extra ICU beds as COVID-19 patient surge tests hospitals, providers\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-06T16:44:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-31T21:18:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1649,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/12\\\/05093015\\\/capacityphoto.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"coronavirus\",\"COVID-19\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hospitals & providers race to increase ICU beds as COVID-19 cases grow\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/12\\\/05093015\\\/capacityphoto.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-06T16:44:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-31T21:18:50+00:00\",\"description\":\"To meet the needs during a surge of COVID-19 patients, hospitals are assessing everything from ICU bed and IV poles, to doctors and nurses.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/12\\\/05093015\\\/capacityphoto.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/12\\\/05093015\\\/capacityphoto.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Facilities workers at UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central remove windows in the building to provide enhanced ventilation in rooms needed for a projected surge in COVID-19 patients. Photo: Cary Vogrin, UCHealth.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Racing to add extra ICU beds as COVID-19 patient surge tests hospitals, providers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\",\"name\":\"UCHealth Today\",\"description\":\"UCHealth Today\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"UCHealth\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/24135149\\\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/24135149\\\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"UCHealth\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/uchealthorg\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/uchealth\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/uchealth\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/school\\\/14839\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/uchealthorg\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UC41SJI79yjZIe96OajzN22g\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f989ee92cb6da7cfb7f697db1c6771b3\",\"name\":\"Erin Emery, UCHealth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dcbc519a86e2e2bbb057b69be9251292a18359ac42f269269b20ff261f26358b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dcbc519a86e2e2bbb057b69be9251292a18359ac42f269269b20ff261f26358b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/dcbc519a86e2e2bbb057b69be9251292a18359ac42f269269b20ff261f26358b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Erin Emery, UCHealth\"},\"description\":\"Erin Emery was a long-time writer and editor UCHealth Today. She also spent years as a reporter for The Denver Post, the Colorado Springs Gazette and the Colorado Springs Sun. Erin was part of a team of Denver Post reporters who won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/author\\\/eemery\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hospitals & providers race to increase ICU beds as COVID-19 cases grow","description":"To meet the needs during a surge of COVID-19 patients, hospitals are assessing everything from ICU bed and IV poles, to doctors and nurses.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Racing to add extra ICU beds as COVID-19 patient surge tests hospitals, providers","og_description":"To meet the needs during a surge of COVID-19 patients, hospitals are assessing everything from ICU bed and IV poles, to doctors and nurses.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\/","og_site_name":"UCHealth Today","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/","article_published_time":"2020-12-06T16:44:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-03-31T21:18:50+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/12\/05093015\/capacityphoto.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Erin Emery, UCHealth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@uchealth","twitter_site":"@uchealth","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Erin Emery, UCHealth","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\/"},"author":{"name":"Erin Emery, UCHealth","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/person\/f989ee92cb6da7cfb7f697db1c6771b3"},"headline":"Racing to add extra ICU beds as COVID-19 patient surge tests hospitals, providers","datePublished":"2020-12-06T16:44:12+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-31T21:18:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\/"},"wordCount":1649,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/12\/05093015\/capacityphoto.webp","keywords":["coronavirus","COVID-19"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\/","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\/","name":"Hospitals & providers race to increase ICU beds as COVID-19 cases grow","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/12\/05093015\/capacityphoto.webp","datePublished":"2020-12-06T16:44:12+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-31T21:18:50+00:00","description":"To meet the needs during a surge of COVID-19 patients, hospitals are assessing everything from ICU bed and IV poles, to doctors and nurses.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/12\/05093015\/capacityphoto.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/12\/05093015\/capacityphoto.webp","width":1200,"height":900,"caption":"Facilities workers at UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central remove windows in the building to provide enhanced ventilation in rooms needed for a projected surge in COVID-19 patients. Photo: Cary Vogrin, UCHealth."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/racing-to-add-extra-icu-beds-as-covid-19-patient-surge-tests-hospitals-providers\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Racing to add extra ICU beds as COVID-19 patient surge tests hospitals, providers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/","name":"UCHealth Today","description":"UCHealth Today","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization","name":"UCHealth","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/24135149\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/24135149\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"UCHealth"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/","https:\/\/x.com\/uchealth","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/uchealth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/14839\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/uchealthorg\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC41SJI79yjZIe96OajzN22g"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/person\/f989ee92cb6da7cfb7f697db1c6771b3","name":"Erin Emery, UCHealth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dcbc519a86e2e2bbb057b69be9251292a18359ac42f269269b20ff261f26358b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dcbc519a86e2e2bbb057b69be9251292a18359ac42f269269b20ff261f26358b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dcbc519a86e2e2bbb057b69be9251292a18359ac42f269269b20ff261f26358b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Erin Emery, UCHealth"},"description":"Erin Emery was a long-time writer and editor UCHealth Today. She also spent years as a reporter for The Denver Post, the Colorado Springs Gazette and the Colorado Springs Sun. Erin was part of a team of Denver Post reporters who won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting.","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/author\/eemery\/"}]}},"coauthors":[{"id":20,"name":"Erin Emery","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/author\/eemery\/"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36475"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36553,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36475\/revisions\/36553"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}