Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
LA Hospitals Still Don’t Have Enough Oxygen Canisters To Send Patients Home
FILE PHOTO: Oxygen Tanks ready to go inside the VA Hospital's Mobile Isolation Unit. (Chava Sanchez/LAist)
COVID-19 patients who recover enough to go home from the hospital often need supplemental oxygen. Their lungs are damaged from the disease; without the help, they often can’t breathe. But with thousands of recovering COVID-19 patients in L.A., oxygen companies are having a hard time keeping up.
"If I have five patients that could go home on oxygen, I’m finding I can’t get them out of the hospital because we can’t find home oxygen companies that have access to oxygen," said Kevan Metcalf is the CEO at Memorial Hospital of Gardena.
"And so that clogs up the hospital for the patients that are presenting to the emergency room on the front end," he said.
Metcalf recently added 14 beds to the hospital auditorium to take care of more patients.
That means patients who could normally return home with supplemental oxygen, are being kept in the hospital for days. Metcalf says they don't have a choice.
"If they run out, they could go south really fast and they could die. They need a constant supply," he said.
Sponsored message
A state Office of Emergency Management's press release said patients who have recovered from COVID-19 must return their home oxygen units and canisters, and encouraged businesses who use bulk oxygen or nitrogen to conserve, writing:
"We need as much capacity devoted to our medical community now as we possibly can. It’s not just the molecules themselves, but also the trucking capacity, the cylinders, the equipment. Every bit that can help free up capacity for our hospitals helps."
READ MORE:
Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
