ICU Capacity is More about the Clinicians than the Number of Beds

Contractors can build new hospitals in a week. But training competent physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and other clinicians to work in ICUs takes years. This recent STAT story explains that "ICU capacity is more about the clinicians than the number of beds."

This reminds me of my experience, during college, as a waiter in downtown Pittsburgh (in the grey building at center). Even when under-staffed, the restaurant would continue seating diners so long as there were available tables. Capacity was measured solely by table capacity without regard to kitchen capacity or server capacity. This resulted in a poorer dining experience. But that is obviously not as consequential as a poorer ICU experience.