A look at how many ventilators are available in Imperial County as cases rise

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY)-As coronavirus cases rise, do hospitals in the Imperial Valley have enough ventilators for COVID-19 patients?

The El Centro Regional Medical Center (ECRMC) and Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District (PMHD) say they are equipped with a total of 36 ventilator machines.

ECRMC currently has 26 ventilators, and are expected to receive more. PMHD has 10 ventilators, where five are used by COVID-19 patients, and two by other patients.

"We have 10 full functioning adult ventilators kind of like the Cadillac, there able to do a wide range of ventilation modes," said Mike Gilbert, PMHD respiratory therapist.

In case of a surge, Gilbert says they have a plan to treat their coronavirus patients.

"We got a contingency plan to take care of those patients also. In addition to those 10 we have machines that are similar to a ventilator and will perform most of the functions of a ventilator," said Gilbert.

The hospital has an additional 10-15 respiratory machines that can perform similar functions as a ventilator.

Fortunately Gilbert says patients at PMHD seem to be on the road to recovery.

"Everybody seems to be recovering. It takes them a while. It takes them a week or longer to get off of the ventilator, but we are doing well on treatment just slow and steady. These are patients that are just not able to breathe on there own, without the support of the machine," said Gilbert.

ECRMC's CEO reported the hospital was equipped with 26 ventilator machines.

According to both hospitals they are working to get additional ventilators, but with a backorder of breathing machines nationwide, it's unclear when that could happen.

The latest numbers from the Imperial County Public Health Department show 75 active coronavirus cases.