Lompoc Valley Medical Center (LVMC) is giving the community an inside look at medical and clinical staff working under what the hospital describes as “unprecedented conditions” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shown in the photos posted to the hospital’s social media pages are a doctor, nurse and two respiratory techs dressed in PPE while caring for a COVID-19 patient. The hospital describes the equipment, which fully covers the staff, as cumbersome.
As of April 8, LVMC was treating 10 COVID-19 patients who had tested positive and another three whose results were pending. All but one of the 13 were said to be inmates from the Lompoc prison, where, to date, 46 inmates and 17 staff have tested positive, according to the Bureau of Federal Prisons.
LVMC has initiated more than 200 COVID-19 tests at its hospital and clinics. Of those, at least 30 have come back positive, according to the hospital.
As of Monday evening, there were 284 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Santa Barbara County. Of those, 46 were in the Lompoc area and another 54 at the prison.