COVID-19 and Des Moines Area Hospitals

I sent the following questions to local Des Moines hospitals, such as Broadlawns, UnityPoint Methodist, UnityPoint Lutheran, and MercyOne about the COVID-19 pandemic.

1)     How close is the ICU to full?
2)     Does the hospital anticipate running out of ICU capacity?
3)     How successful or unsuccessful has treating COVID patients been?
4)     How does the hospital view state and federal responses to COVID?

I received varying degrees of responses. As of July 16, 2020, Broadlawns had six ICU beds and no COVID patients occupying any of them. Furthermore, Broadlawns has screening system on their premises for anyone with symptoms. People with symptoms are referred to Broadlawns’ Urgent Care for testing. Local hospitals are working to have reciprocity for personal protective equipment (PPE) in the event that any of them run low.
On July 23rd, 2020, I received a statement from UnityPoint that discussed PPE and recommended following announcements from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and state departments of public health. UnityPoint has special airborne infection isolation rooms under negative pressure to prevent the spread of the virus.
I have not yet heard from MercyOne, and I will post a separate blog or update this post if or when I hear from them.
According to the State of Iowa’s website, coronavirus.iowa.gov, in Iowa, there have been 437, 852 individuals tested, with 40,635 positive tests. Of those 40,635 positive tests, 8,771 have been in Polk County, or approximately 22%. Of those 8,771 in Polk County, 50% have been in 18- 40 year old category, with percentages decreasing as age increases. The State of Iowa does not report how close local ICUs are to full.

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