St. Charles Bend in ’emergency hospital’ status, delays all elective, overnight procedures
(Update: Adding more details, $10,000 signing bonus)
At least until Wednesday August 4
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – St. Charles Bend is now “operating above capacity” as “an emergency hospital” -- and as a result, all elective surgeries and procedures that require an overnight stay are being delayed until Wednesday, August 4 at the earliest, a spokeswoman said Tuesday afternoon.
“This situation is due to a lack of capacity for long-term care in our community, which leaves us unable to discharge patients in a timely fashion,” Lisa Goodman, St. Charles’ public information officer, told NewsChannel 21.
“Also, Emergency Department visits have escalated in volume, and admissions from the ED are requiring the use of the beds we have available,” Goodman said.
“For now, we must function as an ‘emergency’ hospital and care for our most seriously ill and injured patients, many of whom have had to board in our ED due to lack of beds, she added.
Unlike similar hospital capacity issues from the coronavirus pandemic period of the past-year plus, Goodman did not point to rising COVID-19 cases as the key, driving factor in the current situation.
St. Charles Bend reported 15 COVID-19 patients as of early Tuesday, five of whom were in the ICU, with three on ventilators. The number of patients has increased in recent weeks, as the more-contagious delta variant has had an impact across the country.
"We are seeing a rise in COVID patients, but our overall patient census has been high for many, many weeks now," Goodman said.
"We are not only seeing more sick and injured patients, but also we are having trouble discharging those who need skilled nursing care due to a lack of available beds in our community. Compounding this problem is a severe nationwide nursing shortage that is making it difficult for hospitals like ours to keep pace with the consistently high demand for care," the hospital spokeswoman said.
St. Charles' staffing and nursing squeeze didn't begin with the onset of COVID-19, but it worsened the situation of staff retirements and departures, as has the number of patients who are more seriously ill, with longer stays.
As of now, St. Charles has nearly 600 positions needing to be filled, nearly half of those in nursing roles. St. Charles Health System, the region's largest private employer, has about 4,600 employees.
To try to fill those hundreds of positions, the hospital is offering $10,000 signing bonuses for newly hired registered nurses and $750 to workers for referrals that result in a hire.
