Coronavirus Latest: Gov. Baker Says Hospital Capacity Is Holding Up Against Surge
BOSTON (CBS) -- Gov. Charlie Baker said the state's hospital system remains in a good place at this point during the coronavirus surge in Massachusetts. The governor spoke to reporters after he toured the Boston Hope Medical Center, Boston's coronavirus field hospital, on Saturday.
"[Hospital capacity has] been an important part of the way we measure our success and not just managing the surge so that we can take care of people who are dealing with COVID-19, but to also make sure that our healthcare system has the resources, the capacity to take care of people for all the things that the system normally takes care of people for," said Baker.
The efforts have been "in part to make sure we had the capacity, the skill sets, and the equipment, and the support teams in place to make sure that we can help everybody who had COVID-19 work their way through that, but it was also to make sure that our healthcare system would not be overwhelmed by COVID-19 and would have the ability, which it continues to have today here in the Commonwealth of Mass., to take care of all the other things that everybody expects a world-class health care system like the one we have here in Massachusetts, to be able to do."
Baker took the time to thank those who helped increase hospital capacity and build the field hospital at the Boston Convention Center, which opened last week with 1,000 beds.
"These field hospitals are crucial in reducing the strain and Massachusetts healthcare system, and it helped us add a significant number of beds as we deal with the surge," Baker said. "This whole facility was set up and stood up in about six or seven days and a big part of that effort was led by David Gibbons and the folks here at the Convention Center, but especially by General Jack Hammond from Home Base here in Massachusetts."
Baker said he called Hammond and asked if he would start that afternoon. Hammond called back a few hours later and agreed.
"I just want to say on behalf of the people of the Commonwealth and especially on behalf of the people who will be served here and saved here. Thank you so much for your willingness to bring all of your experience your energy and your expertise to this task, and honestly, I don't think we would have got there as fast as we did or as well as we did without you."
There are currently about 150 patients at the medical center.
"Based on the conversations we had, it's working pretty much exactly the way it was intended to work and I think for all of us, in some respects, that's a big, big relief, as we move forward through the surge. We'll obviously continue to respond to put every resource we have to ensure that we're providing the appropriate level of care to everyone here in the Commonwealth," Baker added.
According to the governor, Massachusetts has delivered four million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE). "That includes almost 2.5 million gloves over 370,000 aircraft masks, almost 200,000 gowns, and 437 ventilators in terms of hospital capacity we continue to monitor the situation at the hospitals and health centers across the Commonwealth."
"Like so many things that have been forced upon all of us to change or adapt to in the wake of this pandemic, Massachusetts obviously looks a little different this weekend than it normally would," Baker said, acknowledging that the Boston Marathon will not take place on Patriots Day. But he echoed Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and told people to avoid running or visiting the course as to not divert first responders and critical resources away from the fight against COVID-19.
"This year, while the race will not be taking place on Monday, the sentiment I think we all feel here in Massachusetts on Marathon Monday remains true: and that's that Massachusetts is strong, we are resilient, and we can run any marathon anybody wants us to run. We'll get through this crisis and we'll get through it together."
