12-09-2020, 12:21 PM
San Mateo provided you a response, but I don't see that their response explains why the numbers are dramatically different. If they can interpret the response to understand the very different numbers, please explain it to me.
The best I can come up with is that maybe the numbers at the SM site are for a limited set of hospitals while the state's numbers are for all hospitals. Why a limited set of hospitals is the subject of an "additional" poll, I don't know. Maybe the state numbers are pulled at midnight, and the county wants their numbers at 3PM and don't mind that some hospitals don't provide that number. I don't know -- I'm just trying to make some sense of it.
By the way, when I looked at SCC last night, I noted that while they were showing that 16% of staffed ICU beds were available, the total number of staffed ICU beds was down 10% since just before Thanksgiving. Why that is, I'm not sure. It was NOT a one-day event. The total number has been dropping.
As I said before, one possible explanation is that hospital administrators are giving people time off before the crunch hits.
Another (probably more likely) explanation is that staff are being redeployed to other hospitals that are shorter on staff. (For instance, you can imagine an entity such as Kaiser redeploying staff to hardest hit areas. Or you can imagine staff from Stanford helping out in San Bernardino Co.)
SCC also notes
I believe that's on top of the intra-Bay Area movement of patients (for instance Menlo Park residents that go to Stanford Hospital or Palo Alto residents that go to Kaiser in Redwood City).
The best I can come up with is that maybe the numbers at the SM site are for a limited set of hospitals while the state's numbers are for all hospitals. Why a limited set of hospitals is the subject of an "additional" poll, I don't know. Maybe the state numbers are pulled at midnight, and the county wants their numbers at 3PM and don't mind that some hospitals don't provide that number. I don't know -- I'm just trying to make some sense of it.
By the way, when I looked at SCC last night, I noted that while they were showing that 16% of staffed ICU beds were available, the total number of staffed ICU beds was down 10% since just before Thanksgiving. Why that is, I'm not sure. It was NOT a one-day event. The total number has been dropping.
As I said before, one possible explanation is that hospital administrators are giving people time off before the crunch hits.
Another (probably more likely) explanation is that staff are being redeployed to other hospitals that are shorter on staff. (For instance, you can imagine an entity such as Kaiser redeploying staff to hardest hit areas. Or you can imagine staff from Stanford helping out in San Bernardino Co.)
SCC also notes
Quote:Santa Clara County has provided hospital care for COVID-19 patients transferred from other areas in the State that have fewer resources. This practice is called mutual aid and while including these patients in our count of COVID-19 hospitalizations may not accurately reflect the severity of disease county residents are experiencing, these patients do receive care in our hospitals and thus need to be included when looking at the number of available beds.
I believe that's on top of the intra-Bay Area movement of patients (for instance Menlo Park residents that go to Stanford Hospital or Palo Alto residents that go to Kaiser in Redwood City).