Nearly half of low-income communities have no ICU beds in their area

As Covid-19 continues to strain the country’s hospital system, new research exposes a striking gap in access to ICU care from one community to the next.

The study, published Monday in Health Affairs, examined an area’s median household income compared to the number of ICU beds per 10,000 residents over 50 years old — the age cohort at greatest risk for Covid-19 hospitalization. Nearly half of the communities with a median income under $35,000 had no ICU beds at all in their ZIP code cluster, compared to only 3% of communities with a median income over $90,000.

The authors warn that the staggering scarcity of critical care services in low-income populations can exacerbate existing disparities seen in deaths due to Covid-19. Many low-income individuals are already at increased risk of infection because they are less likely to be able to work from home and may face more challenges in quarantining.

“What we find is that this low income population is going to be doubly or triply hit,” said Genevieve Kanter, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and the first author of the study.

https://www.statnews.com/2020/08/03/covid19-icu-bed-disparities/