COVID surge bringing area hospitals near capacity

Hospitals all over west Michigan are warning of the consequences of the ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases in Michigan. Medical networks such as Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids say they are approaching the limits of the healthcare they can provide to coronavirus patients.

Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo is seeing similarly worrying numbers. Bronson Medical Group, of which the hospital is a part, is reporting more than double the number of COVID-19 patients they saw in the spring.

Bronson Vice President Dr. Martinson Arnan said the four-hospital system had a maximum of 36 coronavirus patients in April. As of Wednesday, they have 78 patients, including 52 in Kalamazoo.

Arnan said they’re adapting to changing situations.

“We created plans that allowed us to expand capacity in different places that perhaps were earmarked for a different kind of care. We already anticipated that this will happen, and so we have been making room available,” he told WOOD TV 8.

He asked members of the public to continue to take basic COVID-19 precautions, including wearing masks in public, washing hands, and social distancing.

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