A Dignity Health official says 70 patients were being treated in the St. Joseph's ER, Wednesday, with 11 of them receiving care inside the tents outside the hospital.
Maria Martinez brought her husband to St. Joseph's at around 1 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, worried he was having a stroke.
She says they treated him right away but didn't have a bed available for him in the hospital.
"She left at 11 p.m. and still didn't have a room," said Martinez' daughter, translating from Spanish. "She says the situation inside is terrible."
A source with Dignity Health tells ABC15 that both St. Joseph's and Chandler Regional Medical Center are level-one trauma centers in highly populated areas.
They say it is already a normally busy season for hospitalizations, and beds can fill up quickly, forcing the hospital with an overflow of tents.
The tents are currently set outside of both locations, but Dignity officials say the tents are well-equipped and fully staffed.
"There are sick people everywhere inside, laying in gurneys," Martinez said.
Dignity Health released the following statement:
"St. Joseph’s currently has triage tents set up outside the hospital's emergency department to help efficiently triage patients with low-acuity injuries and illnesses. While rates of respiratory illness are declining in our community, they remain above historic averages. In addition, our capacity remains high due to an influx in the number of patients being treated at our hospitals for a variety of other types of illness and injury. The tents are an effective form of hospital preparedness that we have used before and throughout the pandemic to accommodate higher patient volumes while providing safe care for every patient seeking treatment at our emergency department."
According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, the number of COVID cases has dropped significantly from 11,532 cases on December 4, 2022, to 4,278 cases on January 1, 2023.
Martinez says she waited more than 24 hours before her husband finally got a room.
"I've come here several times and it's always been a great experience, but this time, it has not," she said.
Dignity Health officials say they are limiting visitations in some cases and will stay in close contact with state and local health agencies should additional assistance be needed.
ABC15 reached out to Banner Health, who say they are not experiencing a shortage at this time, HonorHealth has not responded to our request at the time of the broadcast.
