Here’s How Full Hospitals In Maricopa County Are

PHOENIX — Even as vaccines begin rolling out to health care workers and offer a powerful tool to fight the pandemic, coronavirus case numbers and hospitalizations continue to hit record highs across the U.S.

The latest hospitalization data shows that at least 100,000 Americans or more have near consistently been in the hospital for coronavirus in December. In Arizona, the state has seen multiple days in a row with deaths numbering in the hundreds this month. As of Monday, approximately 461,345 Arizonans have contracted the virus since the start of the pandemic and at least 7,972 have died.

Only 8 percent of hospital beds are currently available in the state.

In December, the Department of Health and Human Services began reporting hospital capacity data at the facility level, which several have used to determine the percentage of hospital beds occupied across the country.

The latest data for Dec. 11-17 shows how full hospital and ICU beds are in Maricopa County:

Hospital Beds: 21.15 percent occupied by COVID-19 patients
ICU Beds: 38.07 percent occupied by COVID-19 patients

The HHS data compiled by the University of Minnesota is calculated at the facility level and averaged for each county. Here’s how the model developed by the university measures percentage of hospital and ICU beds occupied by coronavirus patients:

Percentage of hospital beds occupied by coronavirus patients=Seven day average of total adult and pediatric patients confirmed or suspected/Seven day average of staffed inpatient beds

Percentage of ICU beds occupied by coronavirus patients=Seven day average of total adult ICU confirmed/Seven day average of staffed ICU adult beds

Several healthcare organizations urged Gov. Doug Ducey last week to implement stricter measures to control the spread of the coronavirus as vaccines are being distributed mostly to frontline workers and amid holiday celebrations.

Among the requests are to close bars and nightclubs, limit restaurants to outside dining and take-out service, implement a statewide enforceable mask mandate and limit public gatherings to 25 people.

“The health care system is overwhelmed and on the brink of considering the need to implement crisis standards of care,” the letter read. “We also face the reality that we will likely run out of available staff to care for patients who need our help.”

The Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, the Arizona Public Health Association, the Maricopa County Medical Society, the Arizona Medical Association, the Arizona Organization of Nurse Leaders and the Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association signed the letter.

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.