Stanislaus County builds coronavirus medical volunteer list to prepare surge facility
While Modesto-area hospitals grapple with the explosion of coronavirus cases, Stanislaus County is creating a roster of medical volunteers to staff a potential alternative care site.
Opening a local surge facility is not currently necessary, officials said Monday, but the county may move patients to its former hospital facilities on Scenic Road if certain conditions are met.
First, the five hospitals — Memorial Medical Center, Doctors Medical Center, Kaiser Modesto Medical Center, Emanuel Medial Center in Turlock and Oak Valley Hospital in Oakdale — must reach their total licensed capacity, said Kristin Olsen, chairwoman of the county Board of Supervisors. Then, the county must consider working with available regional facilities before opening a local site, said Raj Singh, spokesman for the Office of Emergency Services.
“Bottom line is hospitals still have ability to staff up to their 1,200 licensed bed capacity and are working to do so,” Olsen said in a text. “At this time, they haven’t asked us to stand up the Scenic facility as an alternative care site, but we are ready to do so if necessary.”
As of Monday, local hospitals were treating 230 confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients, 44 of whom are in intensive care units. Over the past five days, an average of 29% of intensive care beds were available at hospitals, according to the county tracker.
State facilities may alter Stanislaus surge plans
County officials identified the Scenic Road facilities as a surge location for 110 patients in early April, when fewer than 100 residents had tested positive for COVID-19. Now more than 5,000 Stanislaus County residents have tested positive and Sunday marked the highest one-day infection rate.
The county has contacted Medical Reserve Corps volunteers to gauge their availability and collect credentials, Singh said in a text. One request for volunteers to staff a local alternative care site was emailed Friday. A few volunteers already work at the Salida coronavirus testing site, he added.
Even so, the county may send patients to a regional facility instead of opening up the Scenic Drive site. Olsen gave the underutilized Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, which is controlled by the California Department of Public Health through Oct. 31, as an example. The field hospital can hold 400 beds, but the state put it in a “warm shutdown status” at the end of May, The Sacramento Bee reported.
Other state alternative care sites include Porterville Developmental Center in Tulare County and Seton Medical Center in San Mateo County, which have 50 and 120 operational beds respectively. The state announced their reopening two weeks ago in response to the surge of coronavirus cases after planning to shut them down.
Medical professionals interested in volunteering for the county Medical Reserve Corps can email COVID19volunteers@stanoes.com.
This story was originally published July 14, 2020 at 1:18 PM.
