![Akron General serves as the hub for Cleveland Clinic’s Southern Region with locations in downtown Akron, Lodi, Bath, Green and Stow. [Cleveland Clinic]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e539751/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5325x2809+0+0/resize/840x444!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fimages%2Fnews%2Fnpr%2F2020%2F12%2F945178911_881767435.jpg)
Cleveland Clinic Akron General Hospital is suspending all non-essential, elective procedures requiring hospital or ICU beds, as of Dec. 7.
Medical staff will continue with elective outpatient procedures which don’t require the use of any hospital beds.
The hospital is operating at 98% bed occupancy according to Chief Medical officer Dr. Theresa Lash-Ritter. She says four inpatient units and two ICU units are solely dedicated to caring for COVID patients.
“We have about twice as many COVID patients as we had hospitalized in the spring. However, we also have a lot more experience taking care of such patients," Lash-Ritter said. "We do tend to run fairly high occupancy rates and so this is something that we are used to looking at on a daily basis as far as where patients will go, their bed needs and adjusting staffing needs as well."
She said the hospital is adequately staffed for now.
A Cleveland Clinic task force will guide the distribution of a coronavirus vaccine in the hospital according to Lash-Ritter.
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