Some of COVID-19 beds now available at Baptist Health-Van Buren

More than half of the beds are ready to go in the alternative care site for COVID-19 patients created at Baptist Health-Van Buren. The Van Buren hospital has undergone state- and federally-funded renovations to create up to 74 beds for COVID-19 patients as requested by the state.

Kim Miller, Baptist Health region president, said 44 beds are now completed and they are finalizing the remaining 30 beds.

“As you know, Gov. (Asa) Hutchinson announced in December that an alternative care site for COVID-19 patients would be created at Baptist-Health Van Buren with the hope of creating additional hospital capacity for COVID-19 patients,” Miller said.

In order to complete the renovation at Baptist Health-Van Buren, inpatient care was moved to Baptist Health-Fort Smith.

“This alternate care site was developed for a worse-case scenario in the event of a pandemic surge and hopefully will never be needed,” Miller said.

If needed, the beds would be leased to the state of Arkansas, and plans are continuing to determine the protocols and staffing, Miller said. Gov. Hutchinson announced in December that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will cover 80% of the $7.4 million project, Miller said. The project also includes retrofitting the J.A. Gilbreath Conference Center on the Baptist Health campus in Little Rock to accommodate 50 hospital beds. All 50 of those beds are available if needed, according to Baptist Health.

“We are leveraging our existing resources where possible so this additional capacity can be created in the most effective and efficient manner possible,” Miller said.

While the inpatient units in Van Buren remain closed until needed, the hospital’s emergency department, laboratory, outpatient physical therapy and radiology services are still functional and treating patients as is the Gastroenterology Center, which opened in September.

“Baptist Health-Van Buren still provides a wide range of outpatient services to residents of Crawford County and surrounding areas, as well as a full service Emergency Department,” Miller said.

The Arkansas Department of Health dashboard reported Monday (Feb. 1) there have been 296,494 cumulative cases of the virus in Arkansas since March. There are 16, 665 active cases in the state, and 4,895 COVID-associated deaths. On Sunday, there were 913 COVID hospitalizations throughout the state with 148 on ventilators.

Crawford County has had 6,215 total cumulative cases and 91 total COVID-related deaths. There are 367 total active cases in the county, 257 confirmed and 110 probable. Sebastian County has had 13,589 total cumulative cases and 232 total COVID-related deaths. There are 745 total active cases in the county, 464 confirmed and 281 probable.