BUFFALO, N.Y. — With the possibility that millions of people eventually contract the novel coronavirus, if even a small fraction develop severe symptoms, the health care system could easily get overwhelmed, according to experts.
One of the biggest worries is that we won't have enough hospital beds with equipment to provide critical care.
2 On Your Side crunched the numbers in Western New York. The two dozen hospitals in the region have a total of 3,950 beds but only 319 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds.
WEB EXTRA: See the hospital-by-hospital and county-by-county breakdowns below
"We've been talking to the hospitals about, how do you increase the capacity quickly, staffing capacity, facility capacity?" Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-New York) said during a Friday afternoon briefing.
Statewide, there are about 3,200 ICU beds. But just like in Western New York, many of those are already taken by patients without the coronavirus. In order to free up state, Cuomo is considering another dramatic action.
"I would say it's probable (that) ... we may postpone elective surgeries, because we need that hospital staff to be taking care of this issue," Cuomo said.
New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said the state is also concerned about the supply of critical hospital equipment.
"We're looking into the issue of additional equipment," he said. "We have purchased additional equipment as well."
If there are shortages of equipment, beds or staff in certain parts of New York State, Cuomo said resources can be shared, making coordination very important as the outbreak continues.
The goal is to avoid what's happening in Italy, where in some cases doctors and other health care workers have been so overwhelmed by the number of patients that they've had to decide who gets treatment and who does not.
Erie County Medical Center is Western New York's only level 1 trauma center for adults. That means it could potentially become the place where people dealing with severe symptoms compatible with coronavirus would go.
"We will care for every patient that comes through our door," said Charlene Ludlow, the Vice President and Chief Quality & Safety Officer at ECMC.
Ludlow told 2 On Your Side ECMC has had a pandemic plan in place since 2009, that they modify depending on the situation.
In this case, she explained, "80 percent of these people are going to have mild cases and they won't even be hospitalized."
Still, Ludlow said ECMC is prepared for a possible influx.
"Normally our census is somewhere around 500 patients but we would also be able to if we had to expand into what we call 'surge areas,' " she said.
Those surge areas are located within the property.
Ludlow added, "We've prepared for this. We have a lot of extra availability of supplies that we might need right now. We have kind of a stockpile built up."
If equipment ever became an issue locally, facilities could turn to federal or state agencies for support.
Breakdown of WNY Hospitals
Bertrand Chaffee Hospital, Springville, Erie County
24 Beds, 3 Intensive Care Beds
Buffalo General Medical Center, Buffalo, Erie County
484 Beds, 3 Intensive Care Beds
Cuba Memorial Hospital, Cuba, Allegany County
6 Beds, 0 Intensive Care Beds
Degraff Memorial Hospital, North Tonawanda, Niagara County
54 Beds, 8 Intensive Care Beds
Eastern Niagara Hospital - Lockport Division, Lockport, Niagara County
104 Beds, 8 Intensive Care Beds
Eastern Niagara Hospital - Newfane Division, Newfane, Niagara County
30 Beds, 0 Intensive Care Beds
Erie County Medical Center, Buffalo, Erie County
573 Beds, 34 Intensive Care Beds
John R. Oishei Children's Hospital, Buffalo, Erie County
185 Beds, 48 Intensive Care Beds
Kenmore Mercy Hospital, Kenmore, Erie County
184 Beds, 10 Intensive Care Beds
Medina Memorial Hospital, Medina, Orleans County
39 Beds, 0 Intensive Care Beds
Jones Memorial Hospital, Wellsville, Allegany County
49 Beds, 6 Intensive Care Beds
Mercy Hospital - Orchard Park Division, Orchard Park, Erie County
2 Beds, 0 Intensive Care Beds
Mercy Hospital of Buffalo, Buffalo, Erie County
387 Beds, 28 Intensive Care Beds
Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, Amherst, Erie County
265 Beds, 10 Intensive Care Beds
Mount St. Marys Hospital, Lewiston, Niagara County
175 Beds, 6 Intensive Care Beds
Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, Niagara Falls, Niagara County
171 Beds, 12 Intensive Care Beds
Olean General Hospital, Olean, Cattaraugus County
186 Beds, 14 Intensive Care Beds
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, Erie County
133 Beds, 16 Intensive Care Beds
Sisters of Charity Hospital, Buffalo, Erie County
310 Beds, 40 Intensive Care Beds
Sisters of Charity Hospital - St. Joseph Campus, Cheektowaga, Erie County
103 Beds, 7 Intensive Care Beds
United Memorial Medical Center, Batavia, Genesee County
133 Beds, 4 Intensive Care Beds
Westfield Memorial Hospital, Westfield, Chautauqua County
4 Beds, 0 Intensive Care Beds
Woman's Christian Association Hospital, Jamestown, Chautauqua County
287 Beds, 7 Intensive Care Beds
Wyoming County Community Hospital, Warsaw, Wyoming County
62 Beds, 5 Intensive Care Beds
COUNTY TOTALS
Erie County
2,650 Beds, 249 Intensive Care Beds
Niagara County
534 Beds, 34 Intensive Care Beds
Chautauqua County
291 Beds, 7 Intensive Care Beds
Cattaraugus County
186 Beds, 14 Intensive Care Beds
Allegany County
55 Beds, 6 Intensive Care Beds
Orleans County
39 Beds, 0 Intensive Care Beds
Genesee County
133 Beds, 4 Intensive Care Beds
Wyoming County
62 Beds, 5 Intensive Care Beds
GRAND TOTAL IN WNY
3,950 Beds, 319 Intensive Care Beds