Spectrum Health officials are expecting this COVID-19 surge to continue into the new year. The hospital system is adding 54 more beds in preparation, approved by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
"It is a crisis situation we're in right now," Chief Operating Officer Brian Brasser says. "There is no doubt."
Right now, Spectrum Health hospitals are at about 90% capacity. Over the last 18 months, officials have added 150 additional treatment spaces. The approved amount is on top of changes they've already made since last year, modifying some rooms to hold more patients.
The new beds will soon be available at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital for kids or adults. Brasser hopes they never have to use them, but he says the Omicron variant could soon pose a bigger risk in West Michigan.
"We don't know what comes next," he says. "We've found that this virus has thrown us one curve ball after another, and so as we plan, we have to think of the worst case scenario."
Brasser says it's been about five months of deferring surgeries and moving patients around to make room for COVID-positive cases. The addition of new beds is also to prepare for if their staff get sick.
"The transmissibility of omicron is so far, we have to recognize that not only will be the census continue to climb, but our team availability can continue to erode as they turn positive," he says. "We care about their health."
Brasser wants to remind those in need to still seek out that emergency treatment if you're in trouble, but he's urging everyone to take the measures you can to avoid it, like getting vaccinated, getting the booster shot if eligible, and masking up when in public.
"It's a very, very consistent refrain that staffing is a challenge hour by hour," he says. "(Patient) census and volume is often at record levels. So the community does need to know that this isn't business as usual."
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