The COVID crisis is worsening in Georgia and there’s no place where that’s more evident than within local hospitals.
Northeast Georgia Health System’s new Chief of Medical Staff Dr. Deepak Aggarwal says they’re “beyond capacity.” The largest healthcare system in the region is treating around 300 COVID-positive patients a day in its hospitals – a record level.
NGHS has 738 staffed beds across four hospitals in Gainesville, Braselton, Winder, and Dahlonega. On Jan. 5, only 21 of those beds were open, NGHS figures show. COVID patients account for almost 43% of the system’s current hospital admissions.
Habersham Medical Center, too, is under severe pressure. The NGHS affiliate is averaging between 15 to 20 COVID-positive in-patients a day in its 53-bed facility.
“With a census nearing capacity, to suggest that staffing resources are strained would be an understatement,” says HMC’s Vice President of Culture and Wellness Kesha Clinkscale.
Indications are, it’s going to get worse.
The average positivity rate of COVID-19 tests administered by Northeast Georgia Health System is 34% – a record high and nearly double the state average.
“Prediction models that have been mostly accurate during the pandemic estimate this latest surge will peak in mid-January, so the next few weeks will likely be among the most difficult to manage,” says Aggarwal.
As the overall case numbers have risen, so too have the number of deaths. Almost 10% of Habersham County’s COVID fatalities and roughly 20% of the COVID-related deaths reported by NGHS have occurred in the past month.
Rationing care
According to Dr. Aggarwal, the most pressing concern is having enough staff to care for people who need help. It’s a statewide and national problem.
During a roundtable discussion last month, Georgia hospital CEOs told Gov. Brian Kemp that their biggest challenge is finding enough staff to treat those stricken by COVID and take care of other patients.
The state committed approximately $250 million to help supplement hospital and nursing home staff across Georgia. That funding runs out in March. Although the staff augmentation program has helped, Aggarwal says, “the demands are starting to surpass what they can provide.” He adds, the employed staff is exhausted, and a fair number have been sick as well.
Aggarwal’s predecessor, former NGHS Chief of Medical Staff Dr. Clifton Hastings, warned before Christmas that the system might have to start rationing care if COVID cases continued to rise. “That’s a decision no physician should have to make, and a situation no one in our community should have to face,” Hastings said at the time.
“We hope we don’t get to that point,” says the new Chief of Staff. Still, that possibility exists as the region falls deeper into this post-holiday COVID crisis. “We’re beyond capacity now – caring for roughly 200 more patients than usual this time of year, which is already a typical peak season,” he says.
Habersham Medical Center administrators have not discussed rationing care. If they did, it would be as “a plan of absolute last resort,” says Clinkscale.
Ways the public can help
To help ease the burden on local hospitals, medical professionals advise those needing health care to first contact their primary care doctor or an urgent care center before going to the ER, unless it’s an emergency. Patients who do end up in the emergency room should expect longer than usual wait times. Those who need to be admitted should also be prepared to wait.
“It may take several hours and perhaps spending the night in an area you’re not used to like a waiting area or hallway,” Aggarwal says. “We may also recommend transferring you to a different location based on your needs.”
“We’re doing everything we can to provide safe, effective care – but we’re beyond our capacity. It’s a problem we’re managing day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute.”
As healthcare workers struggle to manage the COVID crisis, they continue to call on the general public to do its part by taking steps to mitigate viral spread. NGHS calls it the 3Ws:
wear a mask, wash your hands, watch your distance.
Members of the public can also help by contributing to their local hospitals. Habersham Medical Center is accepting monetary donations and PPE. Northeast Georgia Health System is accepting donations through its COVID-19 Relief Fund.
