Health care facilities in Arizona are likely to be busy for a long time to come, but as the omicron wave of COVID-19 continues to recede, hospital data shows signs of improvement. 

For the first time in more than six months, the ICU bed occupancy rate in Arizona’s hospitals has dropped below 90%. There are now fewer than half as many COVID-19 patients in Arizona hospital inpatient beds as there were at the beginning of the month. And COVID-19 emergency department visits are falling dramatically. 

Ann-Marie Alameddin, president and CEO of the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, said many in the health care industry are feeling cautiously optimistic.

“We have been at it for two years and welcome the reprieve that hopefully this current dip will provide," Alameddin said. But, she added, "hospitals are still really busy. I don’t think it’s quite yet cause for celebration. We still have to keep the eye on the ball in terms of mitigation efforts.”

Alameddin said hospitals across the state are still struggling with staffing shortages. Meanwhile, providers are extremely busy catching up with a massive backlog of non-COVID-19 patients who have had to delay care.