BELLE GLADE – The rise in COVID-19 cases has overwhelmed Palm Beach County Hospitals.
On. Aug. 15, 2021, Palm Beach County Commissioner McKinlay tweeted, “Our single rural hospital in Belle Glade called all 13 hospitals in Palm Beach County and not a single one could take Lakeside’s COVID patients.”

She later reported one patient had been transported to a hospital in Orlando.

On Aug. 16, she reported Orlando hospitals had no more beds available for transfers. “Calling out of state hospitals too,” she added.

“I’ve got five patients in need of intensive care unit level of care: Ventilators, intubations, one-to-one staffing requirements for nurse to patient, that can’t access care. What is my concern? That we have five families that end up burying their loved ones because no hospital could care for them. That’s my concern,” she shared. “Gov. Ron DeSantis, we have an emergency. Time to call it.”

In an interview with WPBF 25 News on Monday, McKinlay explained: “The only person who controls the situation right now is the governor of the state of Florida. And it’s within his power to make that call and I feel when you’ve got patients who can’t access the healthcare that they need to save their lives because all of our ICU’s are filled up, he needs to take action and he’s the only person who can do that.”

A statement from the Health Care District of Palm Beach County on Monday explained: “The situation at the Health Care District of Palm Beach County’s small, rural hospital, Lakeside Medical Center, has become dire. The availability of intensive care beds in Palm Beach County for COVID-19 transfers changes hourly. For nearly a week, Lakeside Medical Center has been unable to transfer COVID-19 positive patients in need to other intensive care units in Palm Beach County. It is typical for small rural hospitals like Lakeside Medical Center to be able to place patients in need of a higher level of care at another hospital in Palm Beach County. However, the hospital system in Palm Beach County is not functioning this way for COVID-19 patients due to the overwhelming COVID-19 patient volume. While it appeared yesterday that hospital availability outside of Palm Beach County would enable Lakeside Medical Center to transfer its COVID-19 patients beyond the hospital’s ICU bed capacity, the reality now is this is not a reliable option with the scarcity of beds statewide.

“With COVID-19 patients, this has become a life or death challenge not only locally but across the region. Lakeside Medical Center has doubled its ICU capacity to 12 beds which are all full. Lakeside Medical Center regularly monitors ICU patients to free up critical ICU beds when a patient improves and no longer needs that level of care. Lakeside Medical Center is appealing to local hospitals for more support as the number of COVID-19 patients continues to spike.

“Consistently during this latest COVID-19 wave, over 90% of the COVID-19 positive patients who are hospitalized at Lakeside Medical Center are not vaccinated. Currently, the hospital has 34 COVID-19 positive patients with an average age of 58. The Health Care District of Palm Beach County has offered free, walk-up COVID-19 vaccinations to individuals 12 years and older throughout the Glades during multiple days and locations every week over the summer and continues to do so with our mobile clinic set up in Lakeside Medical Center’s parking lot Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. We encourage those eligible to get immunized.”