Even as Gov. Brian Kemp makes plans to reopen parts of Georgia’s economy, officials at Northeast Georgia Health System painted a dire picture Wednesday of what is happening in their service area, saying cases of the coronavirus may not peak until early June.
The health system also said it may reach its staff capacity by May 4, although discussions are underway with the governor’s office and the Department of Public Health to bring in additional health care workers to assist.
“We definitely believe we are a hotspot,” Tracy Vardeman, the system’s chief strategist, said. “So having that dialogue with the state so they understand our special circumstances and what’s going on in our community is really important. And the commitment there is to help intervene and offer support.”
Officials urged people to continue to stay at home unless necessary and to follow the protocols set up by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We know it’s really important for our economy, for our community, for our businesses to get back, but as your health care provider, we also want to be very, very mindful that we are educating you on what we know and to really, strongly encourage everyone to stay home and to use safe practices,” Carol Burrell, president and CEO, said.
The health system is currently treating 126 patients at its four hospitals and at an assisted living facility, according to numbers released Wednesday morning. Fifteen people have died at NGHS facilities. In Hall County alone, there have been 954 total confirmed cases and 8 deaths, according to the NGHS website. These numbers may be different than the public health numbers because of a lag in reporting times.
There was some good news. The system said 190 patients who had been hospitalized with COVID-19 are now recovered and back home.
The system’s officials made their comments Wednesday during a video conference with members of the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce. Many of the hospital officials on the call were in a conference room at Northeast Georgia Medical Center and all wore face masks.
Dr. Shravan Kethireddy, head of critical care, said young, otherwise healthy people still need to take the virus threat seriously. He said the sickest person at the medical center right now is in his 30s.
“Most of what we’ve seen is that this infection is affecting able-bodied working people that have little medical conditions and it’s taking weeks for them to leave the hospital, so now you can only imagine if people are enthusiastic about going back to work, this is not just affecting the nursing home folks. … My big crisis is when we are at capacity and can’t take care of patients that should not ever come to the hospital in the first place.”
Vardeman said the system expects to the see the number of patients increase until June.
“We’re in a very unique situation in Hall County that may not look like the rest of the state or will not look like the rest of the state,” she said. “At the end of the day, this is our community and we’ll need to do what we need to do to protect it.”
While the news about the peak and hospital staffing was not good, officials said the information is based on models which can change based on behavior by people in the community.
“Really, what happens in the hospital will be defined by what happens in the community, so it’s extremely important that we stay at home, wear a mask when we go out because if I’m one of those asymptomatic people who’s shedding the virus, I’m protecting the people around me,” Dr. Supriya Mannepalli, head of infectious disease control, said. “When we wear masks, we protect each other.”
But officials said the system is not prepared to provide widespread testing at this time, so tests that are available are still being administered on a priority basis.
“There’s not an adequate supply of testing materials at the moment,” Michael Covert, the system’s chief operating officer, said. “We’re still focusing on their use for high-risk patients, staff that are symptomatic and individuals needing urgent or emergency surgery. … In terms of being able to do it for the community, it would still be a great challenge.”
Testing is available at the system’s urgent care offices in Gainesville, Braselton, Cleveland, Dahlonega and Toccoa. Emergency department at the hospitals can also administer tests. Patients should call ahead to be screened before coming in.
Anyone who thinks they need to be tested can call their primary care physician, who will conduct a video screening with the patient, Daniel Tuffy, president of Northeast Georgia Physicians Group, said. If they meet the criteria, patients will be told where to go to be tested.
During the announcement Monday, Kemp said hospitals could resume elective surgeries, but Dr. Clifton Hastings said the system is “nowhere close” to resuming elective procedures, saying there should be a two-week drop in the number of cases before such surgeries resume.
