St. Charles begins posting daily COVID-19 hospitalization data online

(Update: video added; quotes from St. Charles official)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – In an effort to promote transparency amid rising cases of COVID-19 in Deschutes County, St. Charles will now release daily data on their website.

As of 12:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, St. Charles reported it had seven patients with COVID-19. Three patients were in the ICU, and one patient was on a ventilator.

Health Systems Chief Operating Officer Iman Simmons said summertime is their trauma season. She said they are concerned not only about the increase in COVID-19 patients, but also their daily admitted patients.

Simmons said last year over the Fourth of July, they had a total of 60 patients admitted, but this year only had about half of that, surprisingly fewer patients.

"I think it's day by day with managing our patients, and making sure that our patients are at the right level of care," Simmons said. "What we know is that we can prevent COVID- 19 hospitalizations and maintain the safe practices that the governor is recommending. That's the message I think St. Charles is wanting to share with the community."

Simmons said she's hoping the inpatient information on their website will help people track cases as well. She said right now they have enough PPE to carefully take care of their patients.

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Earlier announcement:

To help keep the news media and public informed, St. Charles Health System said Monday it has begun sharing its COVID-19 inpatient data on its website at http://www.stcharleshealthcare.org/covid-19.

The data, which will be updated daily Monday through Friday, include:

• Number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19
• Number of COVID-19 patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
• Number of COVID-19 patients on ventilators

As of Monday, St. Charles Bend had nine patients with COVID-19, three of whom are in the ICU; two of those ICU patients are on ventilators.

St. Charles continues to remind the public to wear a mask, as well as practice physical distancing and good hand hygiene, as the number of the COVID-19 cases in Central Oregon continues to rise.

The health system has been preparing for a surge of COVID-19 patients since January, ensuring its hospitals and clinics remain a safe place for care of any kind. Individuals who experience a medical emergency should not hesitate to seek care.