Yuba City school gyms become makeshift hospitals for coronavirus ‘worst-case scenarios’
Authorities are turning two Yuba City high school gyms into makeshift hospitals as they prepare for the worst-case scenario: a surge of coronavirus patients seeking medical treatment exceeding the capacity of this rural area’s only hospital.
The gymnasiums at Yuba City and River Valley high schools were selected as the alternate medical sites, according to a news release from emergency services officials representing Sutter and Yuba counties.
The gyms will soon be staged with beds and medical equipment to handle any surge in the number of patients with COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.
Yuba-Sutter Health Officer Dr. Phuong Luu said they need to plan for the “worst-case scenarios,” but they hope it won’t be necessary to use or fully occupy the gyms.
“Establishing these two alternate medical care sites is crucial, as we face the possibility of our region being hit with an unprecedented increase in ill coronavirus patients,” Luu said in the release.
As of Monday morning, Sutter County had 16 COVID-19 cases, and two people there died due to complications from COVID-19. Yuba County had 11 confirmed COVID-19 cases and no deaths reported.
Current models tracking the coronavirus spread indicate cases could well exceed the number of beds available at Adventist Health and Rideout hospital in Marysville, according to the news release. Luu said the number of residents complying with stay-at-home orders and taking extraordinary precautions while running essential errands will dictate how many will become sick.
The high school gyms will be used for COVID-19 patients who are in stable condition to be discharged from the hospital, but still need to be monitored with some level of assistance with medication and other daily activities.
Officials said these patients in the gyms are considered better suited for a facility that has an open layout to allow limited numbers of healthcare personnel to more easily monitor their status. The gyms were chosen because of their size, electrical capacity, locations and other factors after evaluating several possible sites throughout the two rural counties north of Sacramento.
Turning the gyms into medical care sites is part of a planning process known as “surge capacity” to respond to an anticipated spike in coronavirus patients. Experts say these next few weeks will be critical in determining the magnitude of the coronavirus spread nationwide.
“Surge capacity planning is integral to our day-to-day emergency operations in an effort to ensure that our local health system, including our only hospital, can continue to adequately support patients and staff,” Luu said.
Urban areas where social-distancing orders were initiated early on could experience a peak of new cases later this month. Rural areas could experience a coronavirus spread that takes longer and stretches limited hospital resources thin.
Luu on Monday issued a more “stringent” stay-at-home directive for Sutter and Yuba counties that will remain in effect through May 3. Her first directive was issued March 18. Her new directive “further restricts outdoor activities that have impeded mass social distancing efforts,” according to a news release.
Yuba-Sutter Emergency Services has obtained 500 cots, 1,000 blankets and 1,000 pillows for the gyms.
Yuba County Administrator Robert Bendorf said they began this process early to give planners enough time to coordinate with medical officials and to secure the needed beds and equipment before those resources become even more scarce. The potential coronavirus spread compelled them “to get ahead of this threat.”
Turning the gyms into medical sites is part of surge capacity work already done in collaboration with the Yuba-Sutter Emergency Operations Center, Adventist Health and Rideout, Sutter North, Ampla, Peach Tree and Harmony Health.
Sutter County Administrator Steve Smith said he was appreciative of Yuba City Unified School District officials, who were vital partners in creating “a strong backup plan” if COVID-19 cases grow beyond capacity.
For updated online coronavirus information in Sutter and Yuba counties, visit BePreparedSutter.org or BePreparedYuba.org. A call center also is available to the public at 530-749-7700 from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
