Evan J. LancasterThe Orange County Health Agency has announced the deployment of Mobile Field Hospitals in O.C. that will bring more hospital beds to the county.
On Tuesday, Dec. 15, mobile field hospitals were sent to the University of California, Irvine, Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and St. Jude Medical Center, Fullerton, to fight the ongoing COVID-19 surge.
The same day, Dec. 15, Orange County reported an additional 2,173 cases of COVID-19, with one COVID-19 related death.
In terms of hospitalization, there are currently 1,371 COVID-19 patients being treated, with 296 in the intensive care unit – another day of record high numbers for Orange County.
In a statement on Tuesday, Dec. 15, O.C. Health Care explained that mobile field hospitals are equipped with flooring, showers and air purifiers, and can be used to expand hospital capacity.
“They are housed in large, semi-type trailers and contain heavy duty canvas tents with hard flooring and temperature-controlled units equipped with running water, toilets and showers, generators and lighting, as well as air purifiers,” O.C. HCA’s statement read. “Each identified hospital is charged with using the MFH in a manner that best suits their facility. The following O.C. hospitals have requested this resource from the HCA and have already activated their surge plans.”
- Fountain Valley Regional Hospital – 50 beds
- St. Jude Medical Center, Fullerton – 25 beds
- University of California, Irvine – 50 beds
Dr. Clayton Chau, County Health Officer and Director of the Orange County Health Care Agency, said although a vaccine is scheduled to arrive this week, the most important mitigation tool is not gathering with people outside the household.
“Our team is working around the clock with our hospital partners to distribute and operationalize these critical resources, but the community must do its part and practice non-medical preventative measures like mask wearing, physical distancing and frequent hand-washing to help stop the surge,” he added.
According to the press release, O.C hospitals can request Mobile Field Hospitals from the California Department of Public Heath.
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting Irvine Weekly and our advertisers.