West Boca ICU Completely Full. Bethesda West ICU Completely Full. Delray Medical Center Near Capacity. Boca Regional Filling Up.
BY: ANDREW COLTON | Editor and Publisher
Copyright © 2021 MetroDesk Media, LLC
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) — The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Palm Beach County has surged to 423 as of 6 a.m. Wednesday, January 6th. That is a dramatic jump from just a short time ago, when 291 people were hospitalized on December 21st.
Area ICUs are filling up. Some are at or near capacity. The COVID situation locally appears to be worsening.
The surge comes amidst vaccine chaos in Palm Beach County where the Florida Department of Health, unable to handle calls from anxious seniors seeking vaccinations, switched to an “email only” system on Tuesday. Seniors are being told email requests for appointments. However, several families contacting BocaNewsNow.com since the Tuesday announcement blast the department and local leader Dr. Alina Alonso, saying 85 year olds shouldn’t be told to email requests for lifesaving medication.
Carolyn Zorn, the mother of a local senior, wrote BocaNewsNow.com asking for help.
“How are seniors in their 80s and 90s expected to use computers when they don’t have them to register for COVID-19 vaccine?” asked Zorn. “I have a mom living by herself and she has no access to email smart phone or any other device.”
The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration reports that West Boca Medical Center’s ICU is completely full as of 6 a.m. — 16 beds are in use and none are available. Bethesda West is completely full as well — 10 ICU beds are in use with none available. Wellington reports 22 ICU beds in use with 6 available. Delray Medical reports 44 ICU beds in use with 8 available.. Boca Raton Regional reports 33 ICU beds in use with 8 available.
Statewide, 5,190 ICU beds are in use with just 1,034 available, or 16.6 percent. Public health officials say anything under 25 percent availability is a problem.
Combining COVID and Non-COVID care, ICU and general hospital beds: 49,465 beds are in use in Florida hospitals, with just 12,851 available.
