Eisenhower Health COO provides update on hospital as staff prepares for post-Christmas surge

As hospitalizations continue to increase across the county, Martin Massiello, Eisenhower Health's COO, says staff is already bracing themselves for another surge expected to arrive the week after the Christmas holiday.

Massiello wrote an update to the hospital's staff providing the latest facts and data on the current situation at the Rancho Mirage hospital and revealing the strain the post-Thanksgiving surge has caused.

"It’s no surprise to any of you that we have been experiencing a surge of very sick COVID-19 patients being admitted to the hospital. This has caused an enormous strain on our nursing, respiratory therapy, medical staff, and others in supportive and care-giving roles who are on the frontline, taking care of these very ill patients," Massiello wrote. "People are weary and a little discouraged as we don’t really see an end in sight."

Massiello revealed that the hospital currently has a record 139 COVID positive patients in the hospital.

That's slightly up from 132 positive patients the hospital had on Tuesday, Dr. Alan Williamson, the hospital's chief medical officer told News Channel 3's Peter Daut in an in-depth interview.

Massiello wrote that the hospital has currently 16 COVID patients admitted into the ICU. He added that most of those patients are very sick and on ventilators.

"To give some perspective, just about 4 weeks ago (since Thanksgiving) there were only 51 COVID-19 positive patients in the hospital with 5 of them in ICU," Massiello wrote.

The 7-day positivity rate at Eisenhower Health also continues to increase. Massiello says it is currently 20.5%, which is up from 11% since Thanksgiving weekend. The positivity rate is actually down slightly from the 22.1% reported on Dec. 20.

Massiello revealed that at the time of his message, there are more than 1,080 people who have tested positive at Eisenhower Health but are not sick enough to be hospitalized but are quarantining at home.

On a positive note, Massiello says the hospital received the first shipment of 1,140 doses of the COVID vaccine which will go towards the CDC strictly proscribed highest-risk employees and doctors. At the time of his note, the hospital has vaccinated 863 people.

Eisenhower Health received its first doses of the vaccine last Friday and immediately started vaccinating frontline health care workers.

Massiello finished his update with a heartfelt message to the hospital's staff:

"On behalf of the Board of Directors, the Executive Leadership Team, and all of the EH family, I want to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of you who bear the burden of providing patient care during this most difficult time in our history. You are often talked about as heroes in the media, but I think it goes way beyond being a hero. For most of you it’s a mission, or some would describe it as a calling, that you willingly dedicate yourself to even at a significant personal cost. Those of us who will be able to spend time with our families over the holiday weekend (albeit in new and sometimes strange ways) will be thinking of all of you who need to be here in the hospital on the frontline with immense gratitude as you give the best gift of all to our patients: the gift of caring and simply being there, holding a hand, providing words of encouragement, and healing. I pray that in giving these gifts you receive an abundance of peace and joy in knowing that you have made a difference"

Data for Desert Care Network Hospitals (As of Dec. 21)

• Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs
  • 51 adult ICU beds in use
  • 96 covid patients in the hospital
  • 14 of those 96 were receiving ICU level care
• John F Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio
  • 21 ICU beds in use
  • 36 covid positive patients in total
  • 11 of those 36 were receiving ICU care

Hospitalizations in Riverside County have been increasing since Nov. 5, with the daily increase record being broken twice this week.

On Thursday, the 1,276 new cases, 24 deaths, & 8 more ICU patients over the past 24 hours.

Stay up-to-date with the latest local coronavirus news, including reopenings and closing, new case data, live news conferences, and other updates at KESQ.com/Coronavirus or download the News Channel 3 app on the Apple Store and Google Play.