Desert Regional & JFK Hospitals bring in more nurses to help with staffing shortage as coronavirus cases climb

Hospitals in the Coachella Valley are at surge capacity, but it's not just the beds.

"Probably the biggest challenge we are all facing is staffing," Dr. Geoffrey Leung with Riverside University Health System told News Channel 3.

A federal medical team is expected to report to duty Thursday at Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage, as that hospital reaches a hundred percent staffing capacity.

"Even if you have beds or you have space you need to make sure you have nurses and teams that can take care of patients and especially in specialized areas like intensive care units," Dr. Leung said.

News Channel 3 has learned by the Desert Health Care Network that in the last few days the number of coronavirus patients at Desert Regional Medical Center has significantly grown, surpassing the amount at Eisenhower. As of Wednesday, they have 95 coronavirus patients at Desert Regional Medical Center and 38 at JFK Memorial Hospital.

We asked the question, are there similar staffing issues in the other valley hospitals?

Desert Regional Medical Center currently has 23 traveling nurses with 30 more on the way to start next week. At JFK Memorial Hospital, there are 58 traveling nurses and 17 on the way to start by next week.

Getting these extra hands to help patients is not always easy.

"We do see that as a rising challenge as all of the hospitals in our area are competing for the same additional pools of temporary staffing and hospitals across that state and even nationwide," Dr. Leung said.

As far as hospital capacity, Dr. Leung said that isn't the issue right now.

"We do think that across the county we still have adequate hospital capacity," Dr. Leung said. "All of our hospitals are prepared to expand beyond normal ICU capacity," he added.

Again it's just another reminder that now more than ever we all need to wear a mask, wash our hands and practice social distancing.