This week, Kaiser Permanente began transferring non-COVID-19 patients to the USNS Mercy, the fully staffed and equipped hospital ship now docked in the Port of Los Angeles. Patients are being relocated to the Mercy only in if they voluntarily agree to do so and meet the hospital ship’s clinical criteria, and only after consultation with their physician.
As the number of COVID-19-positive patients grows, this collaboration allows us to use our intensive care units and ventilators for those patients, while ensuring all other non-COVID patients continue to receive high-quality, compassionate care. This is just one of many options we are implementing to prepare for the expected surge of COVID-19 patients, and to further strengthen our ability to deliver outstanding medical care. For details, check your Kaiser Permanente email inbox for the 4/5/20 message and video from Ed Ellison, MD and Julie Miller-Phipps.
