With more patients than beds, Queen’s Medical Center-West Oahu declares emergency

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Faced with rising hospitalizations and critical staffing shortages, Queen’s Medical Center-West Oahu has declared an internal state of emergency as admissions outpace the number of available beds, officials announced Monday afternoon.

Jason Chang, Queen’s Health Systems chief operating officer, said the declaration sets a series of protocols into motion aimed at providing relief to the facility.

There are 104 beds at the hospital, and as of 3 p.m. Monday it was at 112% capacity.

In the ER, there were 58 patients and 16 inpatients “holding.”

Additionally, Chang said, there were 96 providers out due to COVID.

“It’s important to note that QMC-West is not shut down,” Chang said, in a statement. “Area residents should still go to the West Oahu hospital if they have an emergency.”

The hospital last made the emergency declaration in August, during the height of the Delta surge.

The Omicron wave, with record case counts but fewer severe cases, has presented different challenges. But officials warn that staffing remains one of the biggest threats facing hospitals.

On Monday, 324 people statewide were in hospitals with COVID, the Healthcare Association of Hawaii reports. Of those, COVID was the reason for hospitalization for 291 patients.

Meanwhile, officials say that hospitals are full for a number of reasons, including delayed care.

This story will be updated.

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