Several Williamson County hospitals approach ICU bed capacity

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Williamson County ICU beds are at 87% capacity, according to numbers obtained by KXAN.

The numbers, updated Monday evening, come from a county that has far fewer COVID-19 cases than Travis and Hays counties.

Here is the breakdown:

• St. David’s Georgetown Hospital reported that 12 of its 16 ICU beds (75%) were occupied.
• St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center reported that 16 of its 17 ICU beds (94.12%) were occupied.
• Seton Medical Center Williamson reported that 18 of its 19 ICU beds (94.74%) were occupied.
• Baylor Scott & White in Round Rock reported 21 of its 24 ICU beds (87.5%) were occupied.
• Cedar Park Medical Center reported that 18 of its 21 ICU beds (85.71%) were occupied.

The numbers provide the first look at any bed occupancy at the hospital level in our area.

When KXAN has asked, the three large healthcare systems: (Ascension, St. David’s and Baylor Scott & White) have declined to provide bed numbers at the hospital level.

As of Tuesday, the 2,470 staffed beds within all three healthcare systems were 72% occupied, and the 483 ICU beds were 80% occupied.

Last week, the three healthcare systems reported their ICU beds were 70% occupied.

KXAN’s investigative team has been pressing for more transparency from hospitals and local governments about bed numbers, as hospital admissions in Texas continue to spike.

Austin Public Health has been resistant to release specifics as well, but also has battled for more consistent capacity information from local hospitals.

“Publicly, we do not share which hospitals are at capacity, because there is constant shifting and we want the hospitals to have the freedom to move resources as needed,” said Interim Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott in a statement Tuesday.  

“The cooperation we have with our hospital partners is remarkable, and even across the systems, they are sharing information and resources. We have a commitment from all three major hospital systems that if one system runs out of ventilators the other system will either send them to them or accept those patients into their facilities.”