How Can California Have 0% ICU capacity and 1300 Available Beds? (Los Angeles: calculation, costs)

[TheseGoTo11]

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2020/12...able-icu-beds/

State has been gaming the formula for percentages.

[davdaven]

Use of the ICU calculation method seems really forced. The "Southern California" zone stretches from SLO to San Diego and all the way back up to Mammoth Lakes, encompassing a majority of the state's residents. Thus, the scale of hospital bed unavailability in Los Angeles County cancels out better rates elsewhere, and everybody has to stay home.

[TheseGoTo11]

"CDPH says it calculates the adjusted ICU capacity based on the proportion of ICU patients who have COVID-19. “If a region is utilizing more than 30% of its ICU beds for COVID-19 positive patients, then its available ICU capacity is adjusted downward by 0.5% for each 1% over the 30% threshold,” according to the CDPH office of public affairs.

So that mind-bending formula explains how the state has 0% capacity with more than 1,300 ICU beds still available — and maybe why an explanation has been so hard to come by."

Basically, the percentage is not the real utilization, it seems more like a way for Gavin to keep his arbitrary lockdowns in place.

[goodheathen]

This again

COVID-19 patients stay hospitalized longer than many other patients. That's probably the biggest reason why the formula is a little weird.

Nobody likes having the state locked down, and now regions that are improving are being reopened. Los Angeles and a few other counties are a mess and need to get it together to deserve reopening. In very few cases are areas locked down because of nearby messes.

[ManApplet]

The bed market is oversold. Bad news. Does it matter the precise number? Times are tough. This is a bad situation.

[Mike930]

Originally Posted by TheseGoTo11

"CDPH says it calculates the adjusted ICU capacity based on the proportion of ICU patients who have COVID-19. “If a region is utilizing more than 30% of its ICU beds for COVID-19 positive patients, then its available ICU capacity is adjusted downward by 0.5% for each 1% over the 30% threshold,” according to the CDPH office of public affairs.

So that mind-bending formula explains how the state has 0% capacity with more than 1,300 ICU beds still available — and maybe why an explanation has been so hard to come by."

Basically, the percentage is not the real utilization, it seems more like a way for Gavin to keep his arbitrary lockdowns in place.

Figures. Same reason why there’s no green tier. Gavin won’t turn loose of his lockdown unless ordered by the court. That’s why he keeps changing the restrictions and moving the goal posts.

The kool aid drinkers need to wake up and stop the goose stepping.

[shelato]

Originally Posted by TheseGoTo11

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2020/12...able-icu-beds/

State has been gaming the formula for percentages.

Good catch, that explanation was helpful.

[ocoilslick]

It is really quite simple. The way they count the ICU beds is how many "staffed" beds. Generally there a quite a few beds available for ICU that are only staffed when they are needed. Some hospitals that get a lot of traffic in ICU beds will have an extra bed or two (depending on size of hospital maybe more) staffed just in case of a multi car pileup or friday night mayhem sort of thing. Why staff beds that are not likely to be used? So you will always see in CA that there is always only about 10 to 15% of (staffed) ICU beds available, because that translates to on or two staffed beds in case of an emergency. Industry standard practice. Counties often have graphs of ICU bed availability, the the norm is about and extra 10-15% staffed, year in and year out. Costs a lot of money to staff beds. Staffed beds is a totally different number from available beds, that could be staffed in some event like a big increase in covid ICU needs. In the case of such a need, they would still keep about a 10-15% buffer of a few extra staffed beds. Is California the only state to do it like that? I bet most states do it like that. Media makes it sound like they are about to run out of ICU beds, but that is nowhere near the truth. Plenty of nurses available at a moments notice to earn extra money to staff an ICU bed if called in.

[gemstone1]

"Plenty of nurses available at a moments notice to earn extra money to staff an ICU bed if called in."

Under normal circumstances perhaps. These are not normal circumstances.

Do a web search on "ICU Nurse shortage in California", and start reading.

Regards
Gemstone1

[TacoSoup]

Originally Posted by gemstone1

"Plenty of nurses available at a moments notice to earn extra money to staff an ICU bed if called in."

Under normal circumstances perhaps. These are not normal circumstances.

Do a web search on "ICU Nurse shortage in California", and start reading.

Regards
Gemstone1

The poster you’re responding to is actually right. My wife is a RN currently working in primary care and they’re all “on call” if the hospitals need them. Luckily not one has been called over yet.

The poster is also right about how they calculate ICU beds here. Besides staffed beds, they only report actual ICU beds, and not those that can be converted. A hospital can be at 0% percent but that’s not actually reality, and in normal times the available ICU beds can be very low? You be the judge on why it’s reported this way, and why they don’t explain it to us as such?