Hospitals In Oklahoma Lacking Medical Supplies Amid State's Coronavirus Outbreak

More Oklahomans have been heading to hospitals while coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread in the community, leading to concerns over medical supplies.

Governor Stitt said Tuesday Oklahoma hospitals have enough supplies for the next nine days, but more is on the way. Oklahoma Secretary of Health Jerome Loughridge said a shipment of medical supplies are on the way to our state and local companies are helping any way they can. 

"We know it to be the case that as our ICU hospitalizations grow, we will have a strain on our ventilators and their component parts. I learned this morning of an Oklahoma City based company that will be using it's 3-D printing capabilities to actually manufacture valves that's used in our ventilators," said Loughridge.

Governor Stitt also said 10,000 COVID-19 tests will be in Oklahoma by the end of the week. The Governor also said he plans to designate two hospitals in the state to be just for COVID-19 cases.

News On 6 reached out to Tulsa Hospitals about their medical supplies. We're waiting to hear from Ascension St. John and St. Francis.

The following is a press release from OSU Medical Center:

OSU Medical Center is continuously monitoring updates from the CDC as it relates to our response to COVID-19. This situation is still rapidly evolving, and we continue to make changes to our policies, procedures and safety measures according to the guidelines and recommendations. 

Hillcrest HealthCare System also sent the following:

Hillcrest HealthCare System continues extensive preparations in combatting COVID-19 in response to our community’s need. In an effort to minimize the risk to our patients, staff and guests, Hillcrest has implemented a no visitor policy for adult patients effective Wednesday morning, with exceptions made for labor and delivery, children’s care and palliative visits. Supplies of medical-grade masks are lean but stable across the System, and Hillcrest has ICU ventilator capabilities available depending on patient need.