Front line hospital workers plead with public to stay home for the holidays

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Doctors and frontline workers from several large hospitals systems in California gave a warning Tuesday about ICU beds filling and staff spread thin as they plead with the public to stay home for the holidays.

In a virtual press conference, leaders from Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health and Dignity Health warned they are at or near capacity everywhere.

"We are breaking records we don't want to break," said Dr. Thomas McGinn, Executive Vice President of Physician Enterprise for Dignity Health. "California's health systems are in a crisis mode."

One of the state's largest health care providers, Kaiser Permanente, has run out of ICU space in 16 of its 36 hospitals and is struggling to make room for incoming COVID patients.

That dilemma has them taking action to free up space in new locations.

"Adding in-patient beds in surgery and our recovery rooms, in our conference rooms, in our hallways and the like," said Greg Adams, Kaiser Permanente CEO.

Some hospitals, which traditionally have one intensive care unit, now have created two or three out of necessity.

Kaiser says its ICU nurses who usually care for one patient, have seen their workload expand with having to care for up to three patients at at time.

"As we continue to grow in volume, our concern is that we are not able to continue to expand and provide safe care," said Adams.

The hospitals released a pre-produced video in which frontline workers share their first-hand accounts in which they detail what one dubbed a 'horrifying reality.'

Here are some of the comments from it:

"They're talking about doubling-up on the rooms, tripling-up on the rooms and I've never see it like this. It's getting out of control," said Carlos Rangel, an environmental services worker with Kaiser Permanente.

"The biggest thing that I hear from patients all the time is, 'I didn't think it was going to get this bad,' said Bobby Singh, a nurse with Sutter Health.

"Some people don't take it seriously out there," said Hans Vega, a nurse with Dignity Health. "Sometimes it feels like a slap in the face."

"If people continue to gather for the upcoming holidays, we are going to cripple our hospital system," said Dr. Pravin Acharya with Kaiser Permanente.

Their plea to the public as Christmas and New Year's approach, "Don't Share Your Air" and stay home.