COVID-19 surge plan at Adventist Health Hanford preventing full capacity

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Officials with Adventist Health Hanford say they have an extensive surge plan in place, which even includes home monitoring for some patients.

They also have the ability to share resources, such as staff, with their other Valley facilities.

Because of all of this, they say, they haven't reached full capacity yet.

"They have not, as far as I know, activated an external surge plan," says Kings County Admin Officer Rebecca Campbell. "They haven't had the need to do so locally."

Campbell says Kings County, like the rest of the state and country, is experiencing a surge.

While she believes Adventist -- the county's only acute care hospital -- is managing it on its own right now, she worries about whether it will have the necessary amount of staff in the weeks to come.

Over the summer, the hospital was assisted by a team of military healthcare workers. It's unclear if they'll be returning.

"It's not just an East or West Coast surge; It's a nationwide surge, so the staffing is going to be a little more challenging to deal with," she said. "But so far, we are handling that."

Another concern -- Kings County is also home to several state prisons, including the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility in Corcoran, which has more than 700 active COVID cases.

During a board of supervisors meeting on Tuesday, county officials addressed the impact prison outbreaks like this could have on the local healthcare system.

"Our concerns still remain the same," says Kings County Public Health Director Ed Hill. "We're concerned about the healthcare surge that this may cause the local hospitals, as the healthcare that's available at these prisons is at the lower level med-surg, and as these individuals become more critical, they will be transported out to our local facilities

As part of a statement, an Adventist Health spokesperson said: "We encourage people to not be afraid to seek care in the event of an emergency. We are safe and ready to care for our community members in our hospitals and medical offices throughout the Central Valley."

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated there were more than 1,000 active cases at the prison.