During his coronavirus briefing on July 20, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in San Benito County had 0% intensive care unit (ICU) capacity. While the hospital only has four ICU beds, it has not reached zero capacity so far during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hospital has a total of 25 beds, according to Frankie Gallagher, director of marketing and communications. She said 15 beds are dedicated for surgeries and other medical procedures, while another six are in the hospital’s Women’s Center.
In April, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved the hospital’s participation in the Critical Access program, which was a lifeline to provide up to $4 million in additional Medicare funding to keep the doors open at Hazel Hawkins. Part of the qualifying procedures involved reducing the number of beds from 45 down to no more than 25. The hospital had been unsuccessful in its attempt to partner with Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare Systems in 2018.
As of July 31, 622 people in San Benito County have tested positive for the coronavirus since February, with 8,731 people tested in total. Fifty-five are active patients, 563 have recovered and four have died. Gallagher said there were three COVID-19 patients in the hospital and none were on ventilators.
Any COVID-19 patients who need a higher level of care or a specialist not on the hospital’s staff are transported by ambulance or helicopter to hospitals outside the county, Gallagher said.
“We have very dedicated staff and medical staff serving San Benito County residents,” she said. “We are fully staffed and have no shortage of personnel.”
If a patient comes in through the emergency room and is going to be admitted as an inpatient, Gallagher said they are tested for COVID-19, which takes approximately one to three hours for the results depending on the testing forum.
“If they are positive, depending on their condition and severity of illness, they will be sent to Med/Surg where we have specific rooms for COVID patients, or to the ICU where any of the rooms can be utilized for a COVID patient,” she said. “Results for people being tested at the ER tent normally take two to three days.”
She added, “If the test result comes back positive, they are instructed to contact their physician. Again, it depends on the severity of their symptoms as to what treatment they will receive. Some people test positive and have no symptoms or very minor symptoms and do not require medical treatment. Anyone who tests positive is asked to self-isolate.”
Researchers at King’s College in London have determined there are six response types of COVID-19, all having different clusters of symptoms that might help in treating the virus. The clusters are broken down by order of severity.
According to the Kings College website, the six clusters are as follows:
- (‘flu-like’ with no fever): Headache, loss of smell, muscle pains, cough, sore throat, chest pain, no fever.
- (‘flu-like’ with fever): Headache, loss of smell, cough, sore throat, hoarseness, fever, loss of appetite.
- (gastrointestinal): Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, diarrhea, sore throat, chest pain, no cough.
- (severe level one, fatigue): Headache, loss of smell, cough, fever, hoarseness, chest pain, fatigue.
- (severe level two, confusion): Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue, confusion, muscle pain.
- (severe level three, abdominal and respiratory): Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue, confusion, muscle pain, shortness of breath, diarrhea, abdominal pain.
Gallagher said rumors of the hospital being out of Remdesivir—a drug once considered an effective medication for COVID-19, but that experts have cautioned is no silver bullet—were untrue. She added that there is also no shortage of personal protective equipment.
Asked about reports that people who have come to the hospital to be tested outside have been billed by their insurance companies up to $3,000, Gallagher said, “We have a specific billing process in place for patients that seek COVID-19 testing in the ER tent. The charge for COVID-19 testing is $775.”
When Hazel Hawkins activated its tent testing outside in March, Gallagher said the hospital revised its billing changes to reflect the new procedure versus an ER visit.
“Some patients we issued a bill reflecting the ER visit before we were able to implement the billing changes,” she said. “Our business office director personally went through those charges, contacted the patients and corrected the error.”
For patients who have insurance and are seen in the outside tent, Gallagher said only the insurance companies will be billed.
“After the insurance pays, the patient will not be balance billed or owe any share of the cost,” she said. “Patients without insurance who are seen in the tent only will not receive a bill. If the physician assessing a patient in the tent feels that the patient needs a higher level of care than provided in the tent, the patient will be brought into the ER to receive additional diagnostic assessment and care and they will then be billed for those ER services.”
Other related BenitoLink articles:
https://benitolink.com/hazel-hawkins-hospital-has-limited-ability-to-test-for-covid-19/
https://benitolink.com/public-health-services-reports-on-coronavirus-concerns/
https://benitolink.com/hazel-hawkins-banks-on-winning-critical-access-status/
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