Here’s how much equipment California hospitals had stockpiled before COVID-19 hit state
As the new coronavirus emerged as a threat, public health officials in California wanted to gauge the preparedness of the hospitals in the state. They issued a voluntary survey on the availability of personal protective equipment, staff, ventilators and bed space that elicited more than 300 responses from hospital administrators.
The results are only a snapshot in time. The survey was issued in the second week of March and the situation of some facilities may have changed. Still, it offers some insight into the level of their readiness.
About the data
The Sacramento Bee obtained a copy of the survey results from the California Department of Public Health. Only 9 responses were removed from the data because the hospital answered more than once. In those cases, The Bee used the latest response. Hospital names that appeared twice were treated as distinct facilities if they had different addresses. The final count of hospitals included in the database was 293.
This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Here’s how much equipment California hospitals had stockpiled before COVID-19 hit state."