COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cleveland, Columbus and Akron area hospitals reported an increase in the number of available hospital beds between May 7 and May 14.

What You Need To Know

  • Each week, Eye on Ohio: Ohio Center for Journalism updates its ongoing data tally of the state's hospital bed numbers

  • Individual hospitals report their numbers to the state and the state then sends that information to Eye on Ohio

  • The state reported an overall increase of 654 hospital beds between May 7 and May 14

Meanwhile, Cincinnati, Toledo and Dayton all reported a decrease in the number of available hospital beds during that time.

Lucia Walinchus, the executive director for Eye on Ohio, discussed the latest report with Spectrum News 1.

"So I think the bottom line for this last week is it's very good news," Walinchus said. "We're seeing a significant bump in terms of hospital capacity, which we kind of expected as time went on. We had a huge drop when the vaccine rolled out. And then as everything opened back up we had a bit of a backslide, but now we seem to be going back into the right direction."

Specific hospitals that are still facing the brunt of the virus include Summa Akron, Summa Barberton and Western Reserve.

Overall, the latest numbers report that Van Wert Health, University Hospitals Samaritan Medical Center and Highland District are the most overloaded hospitals.

The state also reported a decrease in the number of available ventilators.

On May 14, the state reported 1,177 ventilators, a decrease of 34 from May 7.

Eye on Ohio fought the state for access to the number of available hospital beds and other equipment related to COVID-19. The organization filed a lawsuit in the Court of Claims of Ohio to obtain the requested information.

In November, Judge Patrick M. McGrath ruled the Ohio Department of Health must provide that data.

Click here to view the latest data from Eye on Ohio.