Latest: Check Hospital Capacity In Portland Area

PORTLAND, ME — Health experts are concerned that skyrocketing coronavirus case counts could put extreme stress on hospitals in the coming weeks.

About 77 percent of all inpatient hospital beds were occupied as of Dec. 30, and about 12 percent of all beds were occupied by patients with COVID-19, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Intensive care unit beds are also filling up, with nearly 78 percent occupied nationally. About 22 percent of ICU beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients.

State health officials in Maine reported to the federal government Dec. 29 that approximately 70 percent of inpatient beds and 71 percent of intensive care unit beds in hospitals across the state were occupied. Around 11 percent of inpatient beds and 34 percent of ICU beds statewide were filled by COVID-19 patients, they reported.

Preliminary evidence suggests the omicron coronavirus variant is less severe than the delta variant, but, it is much more contagious, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the White House.

“We've got to be careful that we don't get complacent about that, because it might still lead to a lot of hospitalizations in the United States,” Fauci said during an interview with ABC.

Prior to wide vaccination, coronavirus cases typically were followed by hospitalizations and deaths, Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University School of Public Health, said in the same interview with ABC. Now, hospitalizations and deaths are uncommon among those vaccinated. So now it's more important to track the number of infections occurring in unvaccinated people.

The latest hospitalization numbers from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Cumberland County, included below, are from Dec. 17-23, and represent a rolling seven-day average. Note that the figures for occupied hospital beds sometimes exceed 100 percent; this is because more than one patient sometimes occupies a bed over the course of a week.

Below are the latest figures for hospitals in Cumberland County.

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MAINE MEDICAL CENTER
22 BRAMHALL ST, PORTLAND

• All adult inpatient beds: 615.7
• Inpatient beds occupied: 483.9
• Inpatient beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: 89.9
• Percent of inpatient beds used: 78.59%
• Percent of inpatient beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: 14.60%
• All adult ICU beds: 97
• ICU beds occupied: 80.3
• ICU beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: 38.9
• Percent of ICU beds used: 82.78%
• Percent of ICU beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: 40.10%

NORTHERN LIGHT MERCY HOSPITAL
144 STATE STREET, PORTLAND

• All adult inpatient beds: 121
• Inpatient beds occupied: 57.3
• Inpatient beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: 8.7
• Percent of inpatient beds used: 47.36%
• Percent of inpatient beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: 7.19%
• All adult ICU beds: 7
• ICU beds occupied: 4.1
• ICU beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: N/A
• Percent of ICU beds used: 58.57%
• Percent of ICU beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: N/A

MID COAST HOSPITAL
123 MEDICAL CENTER DRIVE, BRUNSWICK

• All adult inpatient beds: 117
• Inpatient beds occupied: 77.6
• Inpatient beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: 17.7
• Percent of inpatient beds used: 66.32%
• Percent of inpatient beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: 15.13%
• All adult ICU beds: 11
• ICU beds occupied: 8.9
• ICU beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: 5.7
• Percent of ICU beds used: 80.91%
• Percent of ICU beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: 51.82%

BRIDGTON HOSPITAL
10 HOSPITAL DRIVE, BRIDGTON

• All adult inpatient beds: 22
• Inpatient beds occupied: 17.9
• Inpatient beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: N/A
• Percent of inpatient beds used: 81.36%
• Percent of inpatient beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: N/A
• All adult ICU beds: 0
• ICU beds occupied: 0
• ICU beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: 0
• Percent of ICU beds used: N/A
• Percent of ICU beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients: N/A

Editor’s note: This list was automatically generated using data compiled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The local hospitals included in the list are limited to those included in the government data, and the numbers reported by these hospitals to HHS have not been independently verified by Patch. Please report any errors or other feedback to content@patch.com.