Dallas County has 52 intensive care hospital beds as coronavirus cases rise

The number of critical care hospital beds available in Dallas County has declined as the coronavirus pandemic continues to advance in north Texas, according to new data from the county.

Now at 52, the county’s inventory of adult ICU beds is at one of its lowest points since the coronavirus peak in mid-summer in July. The figure does not include beds that hospitals can add if needed. Each hospital has its own emergency plan, which could include doubling the beds in the rooms and converting surgical centers.

“Everyone is very concerned about trends,” said Dr. Philip Huang, director of health. “People aren’t as vigilant with infection control.”

The daily census count is a snapshot and may change. Figures for the total number of adult ICU beds were not immediately available. The county had previously recorded about 350 beds available as of mid-April at the start of the pandemic when hospitals were emptied to make way for COVID-19 cases.

According to previous press reports, not all hospitals systematically report their census. The number of free beds has been regularly below 100 since the beginning of October.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Board said Tuesday there was no shortage of ICU or NICU beds for children. About 30% of all adult intensive care beds in the region are occupied by patients with COVID-19. Among them, seven residents of El Paso County have been moved to North Texas as their county has seen a massive increase in cases. The state reports a total of 229 intensive care beds available in the North Texas area. There are still 1,938 beds available in these hospitals. The state registers a total of 14,982 staffed beds in the region.

At their Tuesday meeting, Dallas County Commissioners expressed both concern and skepticism about the state of the pandemic, accusing a lack of consistency in how the county and state have reported on new cases.

Such a change since the summer: The county is now collecting and publishing the results of COVID-19 antigen tests. These tests provide results within minutes or hours but are considered less reliable than molecular tests.

The state does not register these types of tests.

Commissioner John Wiley Price, a Democrat who represents southern Dallas County, reiterated that hospital data remains the best metric for understanding the presence of the virus.

“We really don’t know,” he said of the number of new cases which have started to surpass 1,000 per day. “These beds are the only indicator, as far as I’m concerned. We don’t know what’s going on.”

Price also questioned the fan supply, demanding details on the availability of parts needed to fix broken machines.

The city of Dallas reported on Tuesday that 38% of the city’s 980 ventilators in hospitals have been used.

But Huang said he was not aware of any issues with the ventilator supplies.

Commissioner JJ Koch, a Republican who represents northern Dallas County, asked for data on the average length of stay in area hospitals.

“It’s really important that we have this data,” he said, highlighting advances in medical treatment for COVID-19. “If we were talking about 52 beds in April, there would be more panic.”

County Judge Clay Jenkins, pointing to the nearly 3,000 new cases recorded Monday between Dallas and neighboring Tarrant County, insisted that North Texans reassess their Thanksgiving holiday plans.

“The key will be for people to celebrate the holidays in small groups,” he said.