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The announcement from Dr. Marjorie Bessel said a quarter of all beds at Banner Health hospitals are occupied by patients with COVID-19. That figure parallels what other hospitals in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ are reporting to the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Department of Health Services.

That is still less than at the peak last year when COVID patients filled more than half the beds.

But Bessel said part of what’s different now — and causing complications — is “an unseasonably high volume of non-COVID patients.’’

“At this time it is very difficult to predict when this surge will subside,’’ she said.

Bessel said many patients are those who delayed care during the past 17 months due to the pandemic.

“They are now seeking care for illnesses and medical issues that have become more severe,’’ she said.

“We are seeing patients with advanced heart issues, late-stage cancer and injuries that require more extensive surgical and procedural care to correct,’’ Bessel explained.

That is on top of the patients with coronavirus. “Please remember these COVID patients require much more attention and care,’’ she said.

“At this time, we remain open and a safe place for care,’’ Bessel said. “And yet, it is requiring us to deliver care in ways that are different than our absolute usual and normal.’’

“Decisions on how best to care for patients are made on an hour-by-hour basis,’’ a Banner publicist said later in an email to Capitol Media Services when pressed for specifics. “Care provided in hallways, ambulances and waiting rooms can occur during our surges.’’

Banner said it does not gather or track such data, however.

The chain has two hospitals in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, Banner University Medical Center ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ and Banner University Medical Center South.

The capacity and care-delivery issues are not unique to Banner, said Holly Ward, marketing and communications director for the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Hospital and Healthcare Association.

“We hear reports of a large amount of ‘patient holds,’ meaning patients are waiting in the emergency department or an overflow unit awaiting an inpatient bed,’’ Ward said.

Unvaccinated, younger patients

All this is part of a larger trend in COVID-19.

Bessel said most of the patients are in the 20- to 60-year-old range. That’s in sharp contrast to early in the pandemic when it was seniors, those 65 and up, filling the beds, she said.

“We believe that this, of course, is directly related to the vaccination rates of those that are in that age group of 65-plus,’’ she said, who were early priorities and have a vaccination rate that is “quite high.’’

Among patients with COVID currently hospitalized at Banner, 96% are unvaccinated.

Bessel used that factor to urge others to roll up their sleeves.

Elective patients and revenues

Last year, facing high occupancy rates at hospitals, Gov. Doug Ducey ordered the facilities to halt elective procedures to preserve bed space for patients with COVID and other ailments that required immediate care.

Ward said at the time that the hospitals agreed with Ducey’s order.

“However, it is having dire financial consequences,’’ she said then, as hospitals lost revenue from more lucrative procedures such as knee surgeries and hip replacements. “That’s a lot of financial bleeding that’s happening.’’

Ducey subsequently rescinded his order. But now hospitals officials may find they have to take the same measures on their own.

“It is possible that we would need to curtail elective surgeries and procedures in the future,’’ Bessel said, whatever the financial considerations.

“Absolutely, those are a revenue source for all health-care systems,’’ she said.

Still, Bessel said, curbing those procedures is not a move Banner wants to make.

“Our intent, especially as a not-for-profit organization providing a lot of care in the states where we operate, is to be available for everybody,’’ she said. “The financial impact of not being able to provide elective surgeries does not go into any of our decision making.’’

What does affect those decisions, Bessel said, is the capacity of the hospital to provide care for elective patients while also dealing with the surge of COVID patients.

“So while it is financially disadvantageous to not have surgeries be offered, I want to make sure that it’s very clear that that is not the driving decision maker for us,’’ she said.