Oklahoma Hospitals Break Down Rising COVID-19 Patient Numbers

Tulsa hospitals are treating more COVID-19 patients than Oklahoma City area hospitals, despite serving a smaller population.

At Ascension St. John, there’s now a daily traffic jam of ambulances continuing outside the emergency department.

Emergency admissions of patients with COVID-19 continues to contribute to rising hospitalizations that hospitals expect has not peaked. With a rising trend of positive cases, they’re expecting the wave of Delta variant COVID-19 patients to continue for now.

Ascension St John reports between their Tulsa and Bartlesville hospitals, they are treating 179 patients with COVID-19, including 31 in intensive care.

St. Francis has the largest COVID-19 wards in the City treating 237 patients, 90% of whom were not vaccinated.

“The prevention message stays the same,” said Ellen Niemitalo, with the Tulsa Health Department. “Vaccines are the most important thing people can do to prevent them from getting COVID or getting seriously ill with COVID.”

At Hillcrest Medical Center, there were no ambulances coming in with COVID-19 patients Monday, because they were turned away. Hillcrest was on total divert Monday, operating at capacity, including 146 COVID-19 patients, the most since the start of the pandemic.