Metro Health Systems Declare Breaking Point In Letter To Community

The metro's top four health systems have a message for the community. They said the healthcare system here in OKC is at a breaking point.

OU Health, Mercy, Integris and SSM Health all say that right now, there are zero ICU beds available across the metro.

And all four of them have a total of 107 patients waiting for an open bed.

In a letter written to Oklahomans across the metro, the four major health systems said they have hundreds of staff, either out sick themselves or out caring for their children who are out of school.

They said this has crippled their already limited staff, and that there could come a point when a patient suffering from a stroke, or even a car accident might not be able to get help.

Now, hospitals are asking the community for help.

They want to see people come to the ER for true emergencies.

However, if people need a COVID-19 test due to exposure or mild symptoms, they need to go to one of many community testing locations.

Tuesday's news conference with the four major health systems will be at 11:00 a.m. in the morning.

News 9 will have the full updates from the conference.