Bartlesville Radio: The area’s best source for news, weather and sports!

As the coronavirus pandemic stretches out, Chief Operating Officer Mike Moore with the Ascension St. John Jane Phillips Medical Center on Wednesday said the hospital's Critical Care Unit (CCU) beds are full.

There are 18 beds that Ascension St. John Jane Phillips can put CCU patients in, and Moore said they hold patients in the ER when they're full. Moore said the patients in the ER stay there until a CCU beds becomes available. He said the patients that are currently in the CCU beds will eventually be transferred to other floors of the hospital when the time is right, making way for those in holding to be moved to a bed.

Moore said half of the CCU beds are used for patients with COVID-19 while the other half is used for patients needing other critical treatments.

The Ascension St. John Jane Phillips Medical Center in Bartlesville, which finds itself in Region Two of Oklahoma, currently sits at Tier Three of a four tier surge plan. Moore said the region includes Stillwater, Ponca City, and other facilities. He said the region has bounced in and out of Tier Four.

Moore said Ascension St. John Jane Phillips has 49 beds available for COVID-19 patients, adding that the hospital is at 60-percent capacity for those being cared for that have COVID-19. He said the hospital continues to see an average of 30 patients in COVID-19 beds at a time.

According to Moore, the hospital's overall capacity as of Wednesday morning is at 95-percent. Moore said the concern lies with how far we're going to get into the coronavirus pandemic before the curve starts to bend downwards. When that happens, Moore said Oklahoma's hospital staffs will know that they'll have enough beds to take care of all of their patients. He said Ascension St. John Jane Phillips is ready to add 16 beds if and when they have to fully enter stage four of the State's four tier system.

Should the hospital need to enter Tier Four, Moore said they would have to look for additional staff. Moore said they would create short term contracts to attract people to Ascension St. John Jane Phillips. He said it's going to be tough though because everyone is going to be doing the exact same thing.

For federal aid to come in, Moore said Gov. Kevin Stitt would have to stop elective surgeries and more. Moore said the elective surgeries would have to be stopped on a statewide level, but he said they know there are some of those surgeries that have to be done based on the seriousness of their patient's condition.

Moore asks the community for patience as they continue to care for the community and its medical needs. He encouraged people to wash their hands, wear a mask, and watch their distance until a vaccine can be rolled out to everyone. He said they want to keep everyone in the community and in the hospital safe from the coronavirus.