Montgomery County Hospitals Diverting Patients Due To High Demand

Editor's Note: Last updated 2:21 p.m. on Jan. 21, 2021. The latest information can be found at the bottom of the article.

GERMANTOWN, MD — A number of Montgomery County hospitals have been temporarily diverting ambulances to other facilities as critical care units and emergency rooms have been filling up.

County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer tweeted on Thursday that area hospitals are operating under "Blue Alert" status, which means ambulances are transporting patients to the closest appropriate medical facility.

A jurisdiction may declare "Blue Alert" status when its EMS system is "temporarily taxed to its limits in providing pre hospital care and ambulance transportation due to extraordinary situations such as snow, icing, flooding or other circumstances that contribute to high demand for ambulance service," according to the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems.

NOTICE: 7a 1/21 *BLUE ALERT* @MontgomeryCoMD Area Hospital(s) CCU bed availability is limited - In fact 'BLUE ALERT' will continue in effect for foreseeable future in order @MCFRS_EMIHS to best manage ALL EMS Resources & transports to ALL local hospitals - PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY pic.twitter.com/fhdZyDaxr1
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) January 21, 2021

Impacted hospitals include Holy Cross in Germantown, Suburban in Bethesda, and Adventist HealthCare White Oak in Silver Spring.

Click here to see the latest alerts and statuses for all Maryland hospitals.