VHHA Launches Online Data Dashboard Highlighting COVID-19 Hospitalizations, Ventilator Use, Hospital Bed Availability, and Equipment Supply Status

April 6, 2020

New Dashboard Features Data Reported Daily by Virginia Hospitals and Health Systems through the Virginia Healthcare Alerting & Status System; VHHA Collects and Collates Data Supplied by Member Hospitals as part of Situational Preparedness and Response Efforts

RICHMOND, VA – With the support of hospital members, the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) has launched a new online data dashboard to provide up-to-date statistics on the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations across the Commonwealth, ventilator usage, current hospital bed availability, and metrics on the number of hospitals experiencing challenges obtaining or replenishing critical inventories of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other needed medical supplies.

The publication of this dashboard, which is updated daily, provides a resource to the public, state and federal partners, and the media to share valuable, accurate data that offers insight into the work being done by Virginia hospitals and health systems, and the thousands of dedicated health care professionals they employ, who are combatting COVID-19.

The information highlighted by the dashboard includes:

• The combined number of confirmed positive COVID-19 patients who are currently hospitalized, and hospitalized patients whose COVID-19 test results are pending.
  • The total number of currently hospitalized COVID-19 patients confirmed positive through testing.
  • The total number of people currently receiving inpatient hospital care whose COVID-19 test results are pending.
  • The combined number of confirmed positive COVID-19 patients, and those whose COVID-19 test results are pending, currently hospitalized in an intensive care unit (ICU).
  • The combined number of hospital patients, both confirmed for COVID-19 and those with test results pending, currently receiving ventilator support.
• The total number of ventilators on-hand in Virginia hospitals.
  • The total number of ventilators currently in use at Virginia hospitals (not all ventilators in use are associated with treating COVID-19 patients).
  • The share of total ventilators in use.
• Overall hospital bed availability.
• The total number of Virginia hospitals experiencing difficulty in obtaining or replenishing PPE in the next three days.
  • The total number of Virginia hospitals experiencing difficulty in obtaining or replenishing other needed medical supplies in the next three days.

“Our public sector partners, health care colleagues, members of the public, and journalists are all seeking credible information about this unfolding global pandemic,” said VHHA President and CEO Sean T. Connaughton. “With the support of the Association’s members, we are making this data available in an easy-to-access format as part of our ongoing commitment to transparency and informing the public about complex health care issues.”

Added VHHA Vice President of Data Analytics David Vaamonde: “Reliable data is a cornerstone of any predictive modeling work being done by those who are working to forecast the spread of COVID-19, anticipate its peak, and identify health care providers’ needs as they battle this virus. The data gathered to populate this dashboard is a key component of that effort.”

“Sharing this data publicly wouldn’t be possible without incredible support from VHHA’s 110 hospital members representing 27 health systems which are supplying this information so we can monitor system capacity and other logistical challenges associated with the frontline work of responding to this pandemic,” said VHHA Emergency Preparedness Director Kelly Parker.

Publication of the COVID-19 data dashboard is one example of the comprehensive work VHHA and its members are doing alongside state and federal partners to fight this pandemic. This work with state, federal, and local partners is facilitated through the Virginia Healthcare Emergency Management Program (VHEMP) established in 2002 as a partnership between VHHA and the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) to foster collaborative planning efforts between health care facilities, first responders, and stakeholders to address public health threats.

About VHHA: The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association is an alliance of 110 hospitals and 27 health delivery systems that develops and advocates for sound health care policy in the Commonwealth. Its mission is to achieve excellence in both health care and health. Its vision is through the power of collaboration to be recognized as a driving force behind making Virginia the healthiest state in the nation. Connect with VHHA through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Julian Walker
Vice President of Communications
(804) 297-3193 office
(804) 304-7402 mobile
jtwalker@vhha.com