SHERIDAN — COVID-19-related hospitalizations in Sheridan County have evened out in the last week, according to Sheridan Memorial Hospital CEO Mike McCafferty, but the hospital remains concerned about its capacity.
The concern comes as the hospital continues to receive requests to transfer patients to SMH — from nearby facilities, including Billings Clinic, which is at 150% of its capacity, and from hospitals as far as Ohio and Texas.
“Right now, the Billings Clinic is in what we call ‘crisis standards of care,’” McCafferty said. “With that, they are making determinations about the priority of care patients are receiving ... based on the resources they have at their disposal to treat those patients. We have accepted a couple of those patients that they have had to refer to us, which is a very challenging situation for us, because we’re not too far off from that kind of a situation (ourselves).”
“Crisis standards of care” is defined by the Institute of Medicine as a “substantial change in useful health care operations and the level of care it is possible to deliver” in the midst of a disaster.
McCafferty said the hospital considers a variety of factors when deciding whether to accept a transfer patient. These include staffing levels and physical space available. They also consider the current and projected COVID hospitalization rates, and the amount of space needed in the hospital for other reasons, such as elective surgeries.
The hospital has decided to continue elective surgeries at this time, although it has limited them during times of high hospitalizations, according to McCafferty.
SMH Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Addlesperger said the hospital is dedicated to helping its regional partners, such as the Billings hospitals, as long as they can maintain capacity for local emergencies. He said the hospital was “cautiously optimistic that we’ll get through this while maintaining our current standards of care.”
Locally, there are 11 COVID hospitalizations in Sheridan County, including two patients in the Intensive Care Unit and one on a ventilator. McCafferty said local hospitalizations have ranged between 10 and 15 this week, which is a bit lower than in August, when as many as 18 Sheridan County residents were hospitalized at one time.
McCafferty said he couldn’t pinpoint any particular reason for the decline in local hospitalizations, although he hopes community members have been availing themselves of safety measures such as masking and social distancing.
There are 270 active COVID-19 cases in Sheridan County, including 17 diagnosed in the last 24 hours as of Thursday afternoon, according to COVID-19 public information officer Jennifer Graves. Local deaths have climbed to 38, following the recent announcement that three Sheridan County men died from the virus in August and September.
COVID testing remains steady at a rate of 75 tests per day, according to McCafferty. Addlesperger recommended anyone who has tested positive to contact their provider and request antibody therapy treatments.
“Particularly if you’re not vaccinated or at higher risk, it (the antibody therapy) has really helped prevent hospitalizations,” Addlesperger said. “…It’s a very effective treatment, and although it doesn’t prevent all hospitalizations, it does cut them down by as much as 70%.”
The REGN-COV2 antibody therapy treatment is a combination of two monoclonal antibodies, and it was designed specifically to block infectivity of the virus that causes COVID-19. On average, the hospital is offering 10 treatments per day, Addlesperger said.
The antibody therapy treatments are administered once somebody has tested positive for COVID-19, Addlesperger said.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends antibody therapy for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients and those at high risk of progressing to severe COVID-19. This includes those 65 or older and those with chronic medical conditions.
The hospital continues to advise vaccinations for those who have not received them as approximately 83% of hospitalized individuals are unvaccinated.
Vaccinations are currently offered at Walgreens, Walmart, Osco Pharmacy and Sheridan County Public Health. As of Sept. 13, 38.58% of county residents had been fully vaccinated, according to the Wyoming Department of Health. This is above the statewide average of 36.5%, and Sheridan County is the fourth most-vaccinated county in the state, behind Teton (74.57%), Albany (47.65%) and Hot Springs (39.88%) counties.
A month ago, on Aug. 16, 36.43% of county residents had been fully vaccinated, according to the Wyoming Department of Health.
"local" - Google News
September 18, 2021
https://ift.tt/3Akty1e
Local COVID cases stabilize, transfers keep hospital busy - The Sheridan Press
"local" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2WoMCc3
https://ift.tt/2KVQLik
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Local COVID cases stabilize, transfers keep hospital busy - The Sheridan Press"
Post a Comment