Prairie State Wire

Close to 60% of the Illinois’ ventilators and nearly 30% of the state’s intensive care unit beds remain available to treat COVID-19 patients, according to hospital utilization numbers reported by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).

Out of the 3,251 staffed ventilators in Illinois, 1,928 were not in use as of April 21, the IDPH reports. And 918 of the state’s 3,141 ICU beds are currently unoccupied, according to the department.

COVID-19 patients using the state’s ventilators number 747, the IDPH said, and 1,220 Illinois residents testing positive for the virus occupy ICU beds in the state.

The state’s total hospital beds number 31,291, with 10,999 (35%) currently available for coronavirus patients, according to the IDPH.

Some areas of the state have fewer beds and ventilators available than others, however. In the city of Chicago, only about 17% of ICU beds are not being used, while in the city’s northeast suburbs, only 22.1% of ICU beds are open, the IDPH said.

The IDPH data are based on numbers hospitals are reporting to the department. They should be considered preliminary since they can be subject to change as the agency continues to validate the data, according to the IDPH.

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Hospital Utilization Numbers Around Illinois

Region	Total # of Staffed Ventilators	# of Ventilators Not in Use	Total # of ICU Beds	# of ICU Beds Not  in Use	% of ICU Beds Available
Illinois	3,251	1,928	3,141	918	29.23%
Rockford	161	138	155	70	45.16%
Peoria	267	195	230	81	35.22%
Springfield	144	97	115	77	66.96%
Edwardsville	138	104	98	34	34.69%
Marion	101	90	83	43	51.81%
Champaign	206	117	138	71	51.45%
Southwest Suburbs	273	164	492	122	24.80%
West Suburbs	322	139	377	91	24.14%
Northwest Suburbs	325	203	363	135	37.19%
Northeast Suburbs	144	63	172	38	22.09%
City of Chicago	1,170	618	918	156	16.99%

Source: Illinois Department of Public Health