HOUSTON – Across the country, medical managers in places like New York City and Washington state are scrambling to find enough hospital beds and ventilators as coronavirus cases grow at staggering rates.
One question worrying many is will Houston and Harris County face the same crisis in the coming weeks?
The numbers suggest local inventories of ventilators and other medical supplies are manageable, at least for now, officials said.
At present, there are 18,300 licensed hospital beds available in the Houston area. The hospitals could expand up to an additional 6,000 beds if needed, for a total of 24,300 beds, according to the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council.
As far as ventilators, there are 836 adult ventilators available in the Houston area.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation calculated the estimated number of ventilators and hospital beds needed in each community. When compared to those estimations, the local inventory of beds and ventilators appears to be manageable.
The institute currently estimates that by May 2 -- when the virus is expected to peak -- Texas will need 1,312 ventilators statewide. That’s about 500 more than currently available, just for the 25 gulf coast counties inventoried by Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council.
The institute also estimates the state will need a total of 10,956 hospital beds statewide and predicts there will be no shortage of beds as the coronavirus peaks in Texas.
Houston and Harris County medical officials have yet to make a local estimate of beds and ventilators needed.
The shortage of face masks for health workers remains a chronic problem with the demand in Harris County -- like the rest of the country -- far outpacing the supply.