COVID-19: Cottage Health provides updates on operations amid COVID-19 outbreak

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Cottage Health provides updates to their operations amid COVID-19 outbreak on Wednesday afternoon.

As of April 1, these are the following updates provided by the non-profit medical organization:

• Cottage is caring for 135 patients.
• 238 beds remain available.
• Their planning anticipates a capacity for adding 270 acute care beds.
• Of 135 patients, 11 patients are on ventilators.
• 49 ventilators remain available including adult, pediatric and neonatal ventilators.
• Of the 135 patients, 26 patients are in isolation for COVID-19 symptoms.
• Of the 26 patients in isolation, 7 patients are in critical care.
• Cottage has collected 1,046 cumulative test samples which resulted in 52 testing positive, 790 testing negative and 204 that are pending.

Cottage is also ramping up their planning in order to support increases in capacity.

They have been in contact with returned nurses and physicians to help increase staffing.

They have been finding solutions for essential healthcare workers by providing daycare, enabling remote work, cross-training employees, hiring more employees and utilizing partner resources for staffing.

They say testing supplies and their turnaround time have been a continual challenge. The hospitals are currently testing high-risk individuals. They have been working on a "rapid triage plan" at the emergency departments to quickly identify patients who can go home for self-monitoring and those who need hospitalization and testing.

The Infection Prevention & Control Department and infectious disease specialists have been working with care teams to conserve needed personal protective equipment as supplies continue to be a challenge.

Cottage has also implemented telehealth in hospitals to limit the number of entries into a patient's room and help conserve personal protective equipment.

Cottage continues to ask community members to donate medical supplies so they can continue protecting staff and patients during this time.

Community members can drop off supplies at the Supply Donation Drop-Off Center at the Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital parking lot on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Santa Ynez Valley community members who would like to donate can contact June Martin to arrange for pick up of supply donations. Martin's email will be j2martin@sbch.org or call her at 805-691-9509. Donations collected will be shipped to the Supply Donation Center.

Cottage Health will also be coordinating virtual press conferences to provide updates on surge plans and how Cottage has been protecting their patients, healthcare workers and community members.

For more information on what Cottage Health is doing, click here.