SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- As coronavirus patients overwhelm New York City hospitals, Syracuse’s three hospitals still have nearly 300 empty beds.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has suggested the state might move some patients upstate to relieve overcrowded New York City hospitals.
Ron Lagoe, executive director of the Hospital Executive Council, said while Syracuse hospitals currently have room to spare, they want to make sure they can accommodate the growing number of local coronavirus patients.
“This is a moving target and the patient census can change quickly,” Lagoe said. “We assume that before we make any commitments outside Onondaga County, we’ve got to make sure we can take care of the Central New York patients.”
Despite the local uptick in coronavirus patients, Syracuse hospitals still have plenty of capacity.
Over the past three weeks, the combined average daily patient census at the three city hospitals has dropped 36 percent.
As previously reported, the sharp drop in patients at city hospitals is due to cancellations of scheduled non-emergency surgeries, postponements of other hospital admissions and a decline in seasonal flu activity.
Today’s census shows the three hospitals have 292 fewer patients than they did three weeks ago.
The hospitals currently have 447 patients in medical-surgical beds used for routine care and 75 patients in intensive care and critical care beds, according to the Hospital Executive Council. Three weeks ago, the three hospitals had 704 patients in medical surgical beds and 110 in intensive care and critical care beds.
The Hospital Executive Council, a Syracuse hospital planning agency, tracks the combined patient census for Upstate, St. Joe’s and Crouse hospitals every day.
James T. Mulder covers health news. Have a news tip? Contact him at (315) 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com