Estimating California needs 50,000 additional hospital beds, the state has gotten creative by parking a naval hospital ship in Los Angeles and converting an old basketball arena in Sacramento. The state has also propped up two bankrupt hospitals, St. Vincent in Los Angeles and Seton in the Bay Area, to meet increased demand. 

For extra staff, Newsom called on retired and part-time doctors and nurses, as well as students close to graduation, to expand the number of health care workers who can treat COVID-19 patients. Through an executive order, he wants to grant nurse practitioners more authority to work independently, a move long resisted by doctors.

The governor has also turned his attention to procuring ventilators and masks, working with nonprofits and the private sector. Lawmakers want oversight.