Union Hospital in Terre Haute is for practical purposes full, its head of quality control said Wednesday. Staff file photo by Austen Leake
As Indiana and Vigo County reported new single-day high COVID-19 numbers, Union Hospital in Terre Haute today reported it was full.
Union has no available beds, as COVID-19 cases have soared in the past week from an average of 30 inpatient cases for several weeks to 57 as of this morning.
“Our hospital is full,” said Marc Keilman, director of quality and infection control at Union Hospital. “We have 280 patients in house. We're not to the point of diverting patients, but we are busting at the seams.”
Keilman said hospitals around the state are reporting high patient censuses due to COVID-19 spread, and Terre Haute's hospitals are in the same condition.
At Terre Haute Regional Hospital, interim CEO Lindsay Stergar said the hospital census has been fluctuating as it typically does during this time of year, but it has been “even more pronounced” during the pandemic.
“We currently have capacity to take care of all patients needing care, including those with COVID, in our community,” Stergar said.
At Union, where the drive-through COVID-19 testing site was backed up several cars deep this morning, Keilman said the hospital is licensed to have 340 patients, but usually is only staffed for 257 patients.
Currently, patient census is limited to 280 because that's all staff can handle, he said.
“You may walk down the hall and see a room with empty beds, but that's because we don't have enough staff to care for people in those beds,” he said.
The hospital has the capacity for 36 patients in the intensive care units, he said, but not all of those beds are currently in use.
Ventilator use is also lower than experts anticipated it would be in the early stages of the pandemic, he said.
The situation is similar at Regional Hospital, said Stergar. “Most of our current hospitalized COVID patients do not require mechanical ventilation, but may require high-flow oxygenation. We have no concerns with our supply of respiratory equipment or PPE.”
Keilman said the common sources of COVID-19 spread continue to be small gatherings such as birthday parties, weddings and social gatherings.
“What we continue to hear is this spread is not a function of schools or universities. It's the small events,” he said.
And with the Thanksgiving holiday quickly approaching, he urges the public to abide by CDC guidelines to limit gathering sizes, to social distance and to eat outdoors if the weather allows.
“Truthfully, this will get worse before it gets better,” Keilman said of the pandemic. “In March and April, we were preparing for D-Day, and it never happened. Now, we are seeing it.”
He encourages people who are planning Thanksgiving gatherings to think about the greater good and make efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 by masking, distancing, and self-isolating if symptoms appear.
“It's time to come together as a community and do what we need to do to keep people safe and not have to shut down,” Keilman said.
© 2024 Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.