At Adventist Health White Memorial hospital on Los Angeles’ Eastside, “honestly, right now, our house is pretty full” with patients undergoing surgeries and other care that was delayed, said operations executive Mara Bryant.

COVID-19 patients have been few lately, but for other health issues, “we are seeing a lot of sicker patients come in because they had put off coming to the hospital during COVID. ... We’re trying to get a lot of that work caught up,” Bryant said.

If the number of COVID-19 patients swells again, the Boyle Heights hospital could activate an 80-bed field hospital built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in its emergency room parking lot, Bryant said.

“The problem is getting the staffing for it,” Bryant said. Hiring from the pool of traveling nurses has been one option, but “they’re incredibly expensive right now.”