PHOENIX — Rural and western Arizona hospitals are bearing a heavier load of COVID patients than they have been, according to a 12 News analysis of the latest U.S. Health and Human Services data for every hospital in the state.
The data is a week-by-week look of average patient loads by each hospital in the country. Hospitals in Arizona's major urban centers -- Phoenix and Tucson -- have seen massive rises in average COVID-19 patient loads. Banner Estrella Medical Center in Phoenix, for instance, went from an average of 39.6 COVID patients the week of November 6 to an average of 125.1 the week of December 11.
But smaller rural hospitals had not seen significant increases -- until the last two weeks. Smaller hospitals were usually transferring cases to urban areas with better staffing and equipment. But as those metro hospitals filled; Valleywise Health had 10 empty ICU beds Wednesday but not enough staff to have patients in them. So rural hospitals are keeping those cases.
La Paz Regional Hospital shows a typical pattern: There were four or less COVID patients there since late July (the federal government anonymizes average case data for hospitals with one to four cases). There were 4.1 the week of November 27th, 4.8 the week of December 4th and an average of 9.6 COVID-19 patients.
La Paz Regional Hospital, Parker
Both Holy Cross Hospital in Nogales and Page Hospital in Page show the same pattern: An average between one and four COVID patients previous to the week of the 11th, and then an increase. Little Colorado Medical Center in Winslow shows a similar pattern, though its increases started the week of November 20 -- although average COVID patient load has nearly doubled since then.
We have visualized the numbers for every hospital in the state that had an average patient load of one or greater the week of December 4th.
You can see those below.
A note about the data: HHS does not provide patient numbers if a hospital has less than four. In those cases, we have marked the week with a single patient. This data is based on individual hospital data reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 12 News used confirmed COVID-19 cases as the measurement.
Apache Junction
Banner Goldfield Medical Center
Benson
Benson Hospital
Casa Grande
Banner Casa Grande Medical Center
Chandler
Chandler Regional Medical Center
Cottonwood
Verde Valley Medical Center
Flagstaff
Flagstaff Medical Center
Gilbert
Mercy Gilbert Medical Center
Glendale
Abrazo Arrowhead Campus
Banner Thunderbird Medical Center
Globe
Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center
Goodyear
Abrazo West Campus
Green Valley
Santa Cruz Valley Regional Hospital
Kingman
Kingman Regional Medical Center
Lake Havasu City
Havasu Regional Medical Center
Mesa
Banner Baywood Medical Center
Banner Desert Medical Center
Dignity Health Arizona General Hospital - Mesa
Mountain Vista Medical Center
Nogales
Holy Cross Hospital
Page
Page Hospital
Phoenix
Abrazo Central Medical Campus
Banner University Medical Center
HonorHealth Deer Valley
HonorHealth John C. Lincoln
Mayo Clinic Hospital
St. Joseph's Hospital
Valleywise Health Medical Center
Prescott
Yavapai Regional Medical Center
Queen Creek
Banner Ironwood Medical Center
Safford
Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center
Scottsdale
Abrazo Scottsdale Campus
HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center
HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea Medical Center
HonorHealth Scottsdale Thompson Peak
Show Low
Summit Healthcare Regional Medical Center
Sierra Vista
Canyon Vista Medical Center
Springerville
White Mountain Regional Medical Center
Sun City
Banner Boswell Medical Center
Sun City West
Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center
Tempe
St. Luke's Hospital
Tucson
Banner University Medical Center Campus
Northwest Medical Center
Tucson Medical Center, Tucson
St. Mary's Hospital, Tucson
Banner University Medical Center South Campus
St. Joseph's Hospital
Wickenburg
Wickenburg Community Hospital
Willcox
Northern Cochise Community Hospital
Yuma
Yuma Regional Medical Center, Yuma
