How full are hospitals with COVID patients anyway? | Brainerd Dispatch

Christmas, New Year’s, spring break — you name it, chances are people will be hitting the road or taking to the air in the time-honored tradition of traveling.

But whether it’s to see loved ones or to let loose with a much-deserved and overdue vacation, the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus has some rethinking of leaving home.

RELATED: ICU, hospital beds at capacity in Brainerd

According to The Associated Press, more than 40 people in the U.S. have been found to be infected with the omicron variant so far, and more than three-quarters of them had been vaccinated, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief said Wednesday.

But the uncertainty of the latest variant that was first confirmed in Minnesota in a Hennepin County resident who had recently returned from New York City nevertheless has some on edge.

People mill around the streets at Times Square in New York City.
Contributed / Andreas M

The man had been vaccinated and took a COVID-19 test on the day before Thanksgiving Day after developing mild symptoms on Nov. 22, according to Minnesota health officials.

“We know that this virus is highly infectious and moves quickly throughout the world. Minnesotans know what to do to keep each other safe now — get the vaccine, get tested, wear a mask indoors, and get a booster,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement.

RELATED: With hospitals full in central Minnesota, Carris Health and CentraCare ask public to do its part

But is there a way to find out if a travel destination is questionable, especially for those with nonrefundable plane tickets or people who are headed to a family reunion with elderly relatives?

National Public Radio has come up with an online tool that allows the user to find out how a particular hospital and a specific county overall are faring.

A hospital bed sits empty, waiting for the next patient. Photo by Martha Dominguez de Gouveia on Unsplash.com

“The federal government regularly releases detailed hospital-level data which show how many inpatient and ICU beds are in use on a weekly basis — and what portion of them are occupied by COVID-19 patients,” according to NPR’s introduction to the webpage.

With NPR’s online tool, one can determine how many beds of a hospital are filled with COVID-19 patients, for example, and the average for hospitals in that county, using an analysis from the University of Minnesota’s COVID-19 Hospitalization Tracking Project.

RELATED: Patients move into Good Sam site as COVID-19 cases rise in the lakes area, and the state sees surge

“The ratio of COVID-19 hospitalizations to total beds gives a picture of how much strain a hospital is under,” according to the NPR online tool.

That ratio is concerning when it goes above 10%, and anything above 20% represents “extreme stress” for the hospital, according to a framework developed by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

RELATED: Tech Savvy: How COVID risky is it?

The science is clear that the best way to stay safe and healthy during the pandemic is to get vaccinated. But sadly, some are refusing and ending up in the ICU — or worse. ICU capacity is also an important indicator of hospital strain, according to the institute.

“When 30% or more of ICU beds are filled by COVID-19 patients, it suggests a hospital is operating under ‘high stress.’ When 60% or more are full, it’s considered at ‘extreme stress,’” according to the university-based, metrics-focused institute.

Essentia Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center Saturday, May 1, 2021, in Brainerd. Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch

The online tool also provides a visual representation of where hospitals are filling up. The color-coded map of the U.S. — and the statistics the tool is based on — are updated regularly.

If a person hovers over a particular county with the computer mouse, it will display the average percentage of hospital beds occupied with COVID-19 patients in the selected county.

Clicking on the county will bring up the percentage of adult ICU beds used by the hospitals in the selected county. The user can also search by county by typing the county’s name.

The NPR webpage also indicates hospital strain by state, so, for example, snowbirds headed for warmer destinations this winter can find out the severity of the pandemic at their destination.

For more information about NPR’s webpage about hospital stress levels, which reflect the percent of inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, visit https://n.pr/3GsutPW.

FRANK LEE may be reached at 218-855-5863 or at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DispatchFL.