Our ICU has 14 beds, with another 9 bed “step down” unit that can accommodate patients that need a monitored bed. We have about 25 vents in our facility (ICU, OR, portable vents from ED).

We typically run around 10 ICU patients at a time +/- 2. It is not unusual to transfer patients from the ED to other facilities because of lack of ICU space.

So theoretically, we can double our intubated patient census, but that strains our resources to the brink. Of course, the Human Resources (nurses, RTs, docs) will eventually be in short supply as social issues (child care leading to calling in) and staff infection (necessitating quarantine) will reduce the available providers needed to take care of these people.

Our challenge is to flatten the curve so that we don’t overwhelm these resources. And don’t forget, all the other sick people not infected with COVID19 (the original ICU 10) still need to be taken care of as well. We get STEMI patients flown in all the time, what do those people do without ICU beds and cardiologists to take care of them?