The East Avenue Medical Center's (EAMC) hospital bed utilization rate as of Tuesday, Aug. 3, is between 75 to 80 percent.
The EAMC is seeing an increase in admissions due to COVID-19.
"Two weeks ago our bed utilization rate was at 40 to 50 percent, now it reaches about 75 to 80 percent, so we can say with some certainty that the number of COVID-19 related patients coming to our hospitals and getting admitted has really increased," EAMC Chief Dr. Alfonso Nuñez said in an interview with TeleRadyo.
Nuñez added that EAMC is currently upgrading its oxygen supply ahead of a possible surge in COVID-19 cases.
"We are currently upgrading our oxygen generation plant, we have already stockpiled oxygen tanks, and we're putting a secondary system, the vacuum insulated evaporator. This is a separate system from the oxygen generation plant and would assure us the supply of oxygen is coming," he continued.
"When it's upgraded, I think we can give oxygen to our neighboring hospitals at a certain limit."
EAMC has also opened three emergency rooms, of which two were allotted for COVID-19 patients, and added 15 more intensive care unit beds.