IU Health Bloomington Hospital is preparing for a surge in coronavirus patients.
“As we study and look at what’s going on up in Marion County, I think we could be a week away from a surge,” IU Health President Brian Shockney says.
Shockney says the hospital ran through multiple ‘surge drills’ this week to get the staff ready. These drills go over what to do if the hospital is at full capacity, which in that case the staff would have to transport patients to other IU Health system hospitals close by.
“We have ways to get patients to our facilities in Paoli, Bedford and Morgan,” Shockney says. “We need to be ready for that possibility.”
Shockney also says the entire IU Health system received a new shipment of personal protective equipment (PPE) this week, which includes masks.
“The supply we have now doesn’t make us concerned,” Shockney says. “We still don’t know what type of surge we’re going to get, so we can never be too careful.”
The latest Indiana State Department of Health report says Monroe County has 40 confirmed cases out of 278 people tested. Shockney says there are certainly more cases and the numbers will rise as more people get tested.
