Thomas Breen photo
YNHH’s main campus on York St.
As hospital intensive care units (ICUs) around the country stretch to their limits during the current surge in Covid-19, Yale New Haven Hospital is “busy” but still has room — with 80 percent of its overall ICU capacity filled, and the ability to “flex up” if necessary.
YNHH Senior Vice President Vin Petrini gave the Independent that email update Friday morning.
He said that the local hospital — which has campuses on York Street and at the old St. Raphael’s on Chapel Street — currently has 200 Covid-positive inpatients, including 49 Covid patients in ICU beds.
He said YNHH has 210 ICU beds overall, and that the local hospital is currently at 80 percent of its ICU capacity.
“We are monitoring the COVID situation very carefully,” he wrote. “But, at this point we have not needed to flex up additional space. At its peak, YNHH cared for roughly 450 COVID positive inpatients, so we are currently running well below half of the levels from last spring.”
According to the state’s Covid tracker, New Haven currently has a positive case rate of 31.1 per 100,000 people, with 567 new cases reported in the first two weeks of November. Roughly 96 percent of the state’s population currently live in a so-called “Red Alert” area with a positive case rate above 15 per 100,000.
What's normal ICU bed capacity at this time of year?
I know the media likes to create alarm with headlines like these, but it's important to note that hospitals don't leave a lot of headroom open for ICU's as they have to make money.