Nicole Aimone, Editor-in-Chief
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, area hospitals are at risk of becoming over capacity while treating positive cases of the virus, and continue to plan to handle a possible influx.
At Upland Hills Hospital in Dodgeville, the hospital is currently at 75% capacity, as a 25 bed critical care facility. Nine rooms on the medical floor of the hospital are designated for coronavirus patients, with three of those rooms specifically designated for intensive care unit needs, said Tina White, Director of Marketing and Community Relations at the hospital.
While cases continue to rise, White said knowing a concrete timeframe for when the hospital might reach capacity is impossible to know.
“There are several factors that make a timeframe hard to predict. COVID cases, hospitalization of COVID cases, hospitalizations of other diagnoses, recovery rate of those currently hospitalized, staffing, capacity at nearby and tertiary referral hospitals,” said White.
White said the hospital is working to ensure staff and patients are safe through providing personal protective equipment and the implementation of a new UV decontamination device.
Should the hospital reach capacity, White said there is a plan to make available additional beds to maximize existing space within the facility.
“The UHH incident command team is in communication with Iowa County Emergency Management and tertiary referral hospitals daily to monitor positive cases and essential resources,” said White.