COVID-19 Hospital Surge Order Triggered for San Joaquin Valley Region

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) today announced jurisdictions in the San Joaquin Valley Region have met the established threshold to enter COVID-19 surge protocols, pursuant to the State Public Health Officer Order issued on August 16. The San Joaquin Valley Region becomes the first region in the state to trigger the state’s order and applies to the following counties: Calaveras, Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, San Benito, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolumne.

The regional threshold is triggered when a region has less than 10 percent of staffed adult ICU beds available for a period of three consecutive days. For at least the next seven days, hospitals in the San Joaquin Valley Region must adhere to the following:

• All general acute care hospitals in the county who do have ICU bed capacity must accept transfer patients when clinically appropriate and directed by the Medical and Health Operational Area Coordinator (MHOAC).

• All general acute care hospitals in the region who do have ICU bed capacity must accept transfer patients when clinically appropriate and directed by the Regional Disaster Medical Health Specialist (RDMHS).

• If there is no ICU bed capacity within the region, then all general acute care hospitals in the State of California must accept transfer patients when clinically appropriate and directed by the California Emergency Services Authority (EMSA) director or designee.

The San Joaquin Valley Region will be reevaluated on September 9. Additional information from CDPH is available here. Regional ICU capacities for all regions is available here.