Relief nurses arrive as hospital sees more COVID-19 patients
40 hospitalized for virus, with seven vaccinated
Maui Memorial Medical Center, pictured Aug. 17, has received 20 emergency nurses on Monday as the hospital treats a growing number of COVID-19 patients. Hospitals statewide are receiving reinforcements as they near patient capacity due to the massive surge in COVID-19 cases. The Maui News / COLLEEN UECHI photos
A total of 40 patients were hospitalized for COVID-19 at Maui Memorial as of Monday. Of those, five were in the ICU, two were on ventilators and only seven of the 40 were vaccinated, a hospital spokesperson said.
Maui Memorial Medical Center, pictured Aug. 17, has received 20 emergency nurses on Monday as the hospital treats a growing number of COVID-19 patients. Hospitals statewide are receiving reinforcements as they near patient capacity due to the massive surge in COVID-19 cases. The Maui News / COLLEEN UECHI photos
A total of 40 patients were hospitalized for COVID-19 at Maui Memorial as of Monday. Of those, five were in the ICU, two were on ventilators and only seven of the 40 were vaccinated, a hospital spokesperson said.
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Maui Memorial Medical Center on Monday received 20 emergency nurses just as the hospital is matching its record count of 40 COVID-19 patients and a high census of patients overall in the hospital.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency-supplied nurses come from all over the country and are on Maui to assist with COVID care, said spokeswoman Tracy Dallarda. The nurses' specializations include telemetry, medical/surgery and the intensive care unit, while some are also respiratory therapists.
The nurses are fully vaccinated and like all travel nurses are taking required COVID tests prior to providing care. They are spending the first few days undergoing orientation so that they have the information on how to safely care for the hospital patients, Dallarda added.
"We are grateful for the support from FEMA and hope this can provide some relief and respite for our incredibly hard-working employees who have been working non-stop, long days and hours to care for our community," Dallarda said.
The hospital on Monday also confirmed that in past weeks it has been able to take patients from other Neighbor Islands for treatment, as hospitals statewide fill up quickly.
Transfer requests are evaluated on a case-by-case basis to ensure the hospital has appropriate capacity, staffing and resources, Dallarda said.
"We will always do our best to support any of our neighboring hospitals and patients, but as our census continually changes from hour to hour, we have to evaluate each request as it comes in," she added.
Hospital officials did not immediately have the total of Neighbor Island patients the hospital has received or how many were currently at Maui Memorial.
Of the 40 COVID patients in the hospital as of 9 a.m. Monday, five were in the ICU, two were on ventilators and only seven of the 40 patients are vaccinated, Dallarda said.
"Currently we have ICU beds available, but we are running at high census," she added.
Maui Memorial did not provide the number of beds that were occupied Monday, as Dallarda said the exact count "can fluctuate by the minute" as patients are discharged and admitted.
The hospital has 219 beds but can expand if needed to nearly 300.
"Census is in the 90-percent range for normal operations," Dallarda said, noting that the hospital has not yet needed to open up additional beds.
* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.