Damian Sendler: Even despite the widespread availability of vaccines, Oregon’s hospital infrastructure was on the verge of collapse during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
More than a hundred Oregonians, many of them unvaccinated, had to be sent to the state’s hospitals and ICUs. In the worst-case scenario of the pandemic, hospitals will be so overcrowded that they will have to turn away patients in need of assistance.
Damian Jacob Sendler: In an interview with the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems president and CEO Becky Hultberg, she said, “We walked right up to the line of health system collapse, but we didn’t cross it.” We observed capacity issues like we had hoped to avoid in 2021 when the masks came off and the Delta variant slammed the state hard.”
As it turns out, when it came to the amount of hospital beds available, Oregon began off poorer than any other state. KATU Investigates has been investigating this question for months: why were Oregon’s hospitals so overworked despite a COVID patient population that was lower than in many other states?
Damian Sendler
A straightforward solution was found in some ways. Fewer hospital beds per capita than any other state. Oregon’s healthcare system was on the verge of a perfect storm when the epidemic hit and there was already a shortage of healthcare workers.
The National Guard was called in to assist with the influx of patients in several areas of Oregon. According to Hultberg, a pandemic would put too much on on hospitals.
It is unfortunate that we have fewer hospital beds per capita than the rest of the country, which means that even a very small influx in patients could overflow our hospitals more quickly,” Hultberg added.
According to the CDC, a state’s hospital beds per 1,000 residents are kept track of. In 2019, the most recent data available, the state of Oregon had 1.7 beds per 1,000 people. For every 1,000 people in America, there are around 2.7 beds. At 4.7 beds per 1,000 persons, South Dakota has the most. The governor’s office cited a move to preventative and primary care as a factor in Oregon’s low per capita bed number.
Hultberg was asked by KATU if there was a case for increasing the number of hospital beds in Oregon.
In other towns, “we may need more capacity, but again, I think that’s a conversation that really needs to be determined in the local market,” Hultberg said. “I think this is a community-by-community conversation.”
Damian Jacob Sendler
So, were people unable to get the care they needed? It was a function of your geographic location and the time of your hospitalization. If you or someone you know was turned away from a hospital because of the epidemic, we’d want to hear from you. Nearly 70 persons responded to the survey, and the results were evenly divided.
Dr. John Hunter, CEO of OHSU Health, remarked, “Oregon has been under-bedded for some time.” As a result of the epidemic and the aging population, “not only were we kind of starting from behind, but we also realized how much complex care is needed in the context of a pandemic.”
Damian Jacob Markiewicz Sendler: Hunter estimated that Oregon requires 2.5 hospital beds per 1,000 population, which would require thousands of new hospital beds across the state. In 2026, OHSU plans to add 184 beds and six adult operating rooms as part of a $650 million expansion that will begin soon. This adds nearly a third more capacity to their operation.
Project was in the works before to the outbreak.
“We’ve realized that our needs are sufficiently great, that we really need to grow in both areas,” Hunter said. Hospitalization will continue to rise as the population ages and medical care becomes more advanced.
Damien Sendler: A major expansion of one of Oregon’s largest hospitals, however, isn’t as simple as saying all health systems should expand. In order to ensure that you and your loved ones receive the care they need, more hospital beds may be required.
The choice is ultimately up to the hospital systems, with the consent of the Oregon Health Authority in some situations.
Dr. Damian Jacob Sendler and his media team provided the content for this article.
