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MURRAY — Intermountain Healthcare officials said as new patients with COVID-19 arrive every day, their hospitals are ready for a possible surge in virus cases.
Chief Operating Officer Rob Allen said Tuesday the company was preparing for a surge in the next few weeks, which is what other countries and states have seen happen during the pandemic.
“We are ready, and we are constantly assessing our readiness on a daily basis,” Allen said in a video teleconference. “We continue to see growth in the number of cases, and so that’s why we continue to talk about a potential surge in the future.”
The later the peak, the smaller the projected surge will be. That would be an indication that social distancing is helping to flatten the curve.
“Fortunately for Utah, because of early action, our cases are less than many other places," Allen said.
Utah ranked 29th in the nation in total COVID-19 cases and 43rd in total deaths on Tuesday. Utah also ranked eighth in the U.S. in COVID-19 testing per capita.
The Beehive State’s peak is likely to arrive during the first week of May, according to models from the University of Washington — if everyone keeps up social distancing.
However, officials said the models do continue to change slightly each day.
About 200 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized statewide on Tuesday. Preparations started several weeks ago when Intermountain Healthcare postponed elective procedures to free up space and ramped up testing to improve identification of the novel coronavirus.
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Intermountain received raw material donations from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and design help from the University of Utah. Volunteers were also helping with production.
“I have concerns about (personal protective equipment) only because we’ve seen other places that have struggled with that,” Allen said. “We have a good supply of PPE here at Intermountain Healthcare and in Utah.”
COVID-19 patients will be taken to the company’s premier hospitals. Other patients, including pediatric patients, will be shifted to hospitals like the Orthopedic Specialty Hospital and Primary Children’s Hospital.
Intensive care units will handle the sickest patients who need to be put on ventilators.
“Our hospitals, as we look at that surge expanding, are ready to expand multiple times the number of beds that can handle ICU patients,” Allen said.
He added Intermountain was using less than half of the ventilators on hand and he believed the company will meet demand.
Two hundred healthcare workers will also be redeployed for COVID-19 care.
“I wish we could say exactly when we thought the surge would be here, but, if we follow what’s happened in other communities, it’s still ahead of us,” Allen said.
