Region 1 hospital ICUs have been busy for 10 months

It might feel like the current COVID-19 surge came with the new year.

But a look at intensive care unit occupancy shows that hospitals in northwest Illinois haven’t had an appreciable break since April 4, 2021.

It’s been 10 months since the last time ICU occupancy dropped below 80% for more than two consecutive weeks.

These numbers are based on seven-day rolling averages for hospital ICUs in Region 1, the nine-county area in northwest Illinois that encompasses the Sauk Valley.

The data sets are made public by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Chart from the Illinois Department of Public Health shows hospital ICU bed availability in northwest Illinois (Region 1) since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There was a brief early-summer lull — 11 days in June — when slightly more than two in 10 ICUs were available. It was also at 22% on Oct. 29. Since then, though, ICUs have largely been filled.

Hospitals in the region have gone 73 consecutive days in which fewer than 20% of intensive care units were available.

For the past month, ICU availability tops out at 8% on the best days.

Federal staffing

The federal government approved a request to dispatch a 22-person team to provide medical staffing assistance for Javon Bae Hospital-Riverside in Rockford, Gov. JB Pritzker said on Friday.

The team will be on hand for 14 days to reduce the strain on its Emergency Department and help other hospitals in Region 1 looking to transfer patients to the facility.

“Health care workers on the front lines in hospitals have faced an unprecedented work situation and the state is looking at multiple ways to reduce the burden on our pandemic heroes,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike in a news release.

Pritzker said more than 2,000 medical professionals have been deployed across the state, working in reaction teams and providing reinforcements to hospital staff.

HHS hospital reports

The most recent reports to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows hospital occupancy for the last week of 2021.

On Dec. 30, CGH Medical Center in Sterling reported 70 of 85 beds occupied and 16 of 18 ICUs. At KSB Hospital in Dixon it was 56 of 94 beds and all eight ICUs. Morrison Hospital was seven of 10 beds, Rochelle Community was seven of 13 beds and FHN Memorial in Freeport was 84 of 100 beds and 9 of 13 ICUs.

MercyOne in Clinton, Iowa, was using 41 of 119 beds and all 10 of its ICUs, MercyHealth in Rockford was 151 of 200 beds and 30 of 34 ICUs, Swedish American in Rockford was 273 of 359 beds and 29 of 30 ICUs and St. Anthony was 201 of 285 beds and 34 of 57 ICUs.

Because these are rolling averages, it is possible ICU availability at a given hospital varies.

According to the HHS dashboard showing hospital occupancy for all of Illinois, 73.18% of inpatient beds are in use and 22.62% are for COVID-19 or illnesses with COVID-like symptoms.

School outbreaks

There were three new outbreaks at schools, all in Ogle County. Forreston High School had eight cases traced to a sports team on Jan. 10. Mary Morgan Elementary had six cases traced to a classroom on Jan. 12 and Byron Middle School had 10 cases traced to a classroom on Jan. 12.

Transmission rates

For both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the IDPH, the rate of COVID-19 transmission is based on the number of cases per 100,000 population.

This allows for at-a-glance comparisons between geographic regions with varying populations, but it requires a mathematical conversion. In the case of rural areas with less than 100,000 people, a proportional multiplier is applied; for more populous regions, a divider.

The most recent figures were posted on Friday.

The state’s highest transmission rate was Calhoun County at 3,841.75 per 100,000 people; its lowest was Henderson at 496.54. Both are well above the “high rate” designation.

Whiteside County’s transmission rate was 2,189.4, which ranked 26th among Illinois’ 102 counties. Lee was at 2,141.01, which was 29th.

Bureau was at 1,829.72, which was 49th, Ogle was at 1,670.52, which was 65th, and Carroll was at 1,349.18, which was 89th.

For the number of positive cases over the previous seven days: Whiteside was at 1,208, Ogle at 846, Lee at 730, Bureau at 597 and Carroll at 193.

Troy Taylor

Troy E. Taylor

Was named editor for Saukvalley.com and the Gazette and Telegraph in 2021. An Illinois native, he has been a reporter or editor in daily newspapers since 1989.