CONTRA COSTA: Ends Month-Long State of Emergency
"Despite a one-day strike yesterday by Kaiser Permanente nurses, Contra Costa County supervisors called off a month-long health care emergency brought on by overcrowded emergency rooms and a shortage of unoccupied hospital beds," the San Francisco Chronicle reports. During the crisis' high-point in January, "[a]s few as two and three of the 160 critical care beds at Contra Costa's eight hospitals were available at times" due to the impact of an exceptionally severe flu season. "Now, between 20 and 30 beds are available at any time," the Chronicle reports. "We're basically back at this point to business as usual," said Contra Costa Health Services Director William Walker. The Chronicle reports hospitals in the county "have also agreed to release data on emergency room visits so the county can better monitor emergency care" (2/25).
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