Los Angeles County paramedics deliver oxygen to a potential patient with the Chinese Communist virus after taking him to an ambulance for treatment at a hospital in Hawthorne, California, Dec. 29, 2020.
Los Angeles County, California, has seen a recent surge in cases of the Chinese Communist virus (COVID-19). As the county’s intensive care units (ICUs) are nearing capacity, the county has instructed ambulance crews not to send patients with a “slim chance of survival” to local hospitals for treatment.
A directive issued Monday (Jan. 4) by Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) also requires ambulance crews to maintain oxygen usage in the most populous county in California. The county’s current infection rate is 138 infections per 100,000 people, according to California’s tracking dashboard.
As of Monday night, only 17 adult ICU beds were available and 7,544 people were hospitalized, according to county health data.
According to the Los Angeles Times, a Los Angeles County EMS directive states that ambulance personnel should not transport patients to the hospital if their hearts have stopped and resuscitation attempts have failed due to a lack of beds.
If the patient shows no signs of breathing or pulse, then ambulance personnel will perform resuscitation for at least 20 minutes. If the patient is stable after resuscitation efforts, he or she can be transported to a county hospital. Patients declared dead at the scene will not be transported to the hospital by paramedics.
Due to the oxygen shortage in Los Angeles, a memo issued by EMS requires ambulance personnel, only to administer supplemental oxygen to patients with oxygen saturation levels below 90 percent. The memo states that a 90 percent level is sufficient for most patients to maintain normal bodily functions.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom also announced on Friday that the state will work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate and update outdated oxygen delivery systems at six Los Angeles hospitals.
At a news conference Monday, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said, “It’s unimaginable that we could be experiencing the worst situation we’ve faced throughout the pandemic in January.”
The county added in a statement, “This could be the worst month of the pandemic. Holiday parties are proliferating here. As parties (increase) and travelers return to Los Angeles County, cases will increase.”
Newsom said California is working to provide support for home oxygen use to reduce pressure on local hospitals, thereby “providing higher availability and greater capacity in our existing facilities.”
Recent Comments