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Daily COVID report | Overcrowding and long wait times in E.D. across the region | DO NOT GO TO E.D. FOR COVID TEST

Overcrowding and long E.D. wait times are being experienced in hospitals throughout the region and statewide due to the COVID surge.

Overcrowding and long E.D. wait times are being experienced in hospitals throughout the region and statewide due to the COVID surge.

The two hospital systems in Savannah which include Memorial Medical Center our regions ONLY LEVEL ONE TRAUMA CENTER and Candler/St. Josepths now have over 210 COVID inpatients in the hospital. This is a new record for Savannah. The old record was around 165.

East Georgia Regional Medical Center (EGRMC) in Statesboro is asking for citizens to NOT go to the E.D. for COVID testing. They are conserving testing supplies for their patients. COVID testing options are listed below in this report.

EGRMC is has 41 COVID patients in the hospital today with 12 sick enough to require vents.

Grice Connect is receiving reports of over three hour wait times at area E.D.'s and over one hour wait times at Urgent Cares.

Area hospitals working to keep up with surge

All region J EMS services are reporting record call volumes. If this continues to increase, wait times for EMS response could increase which is a huge problem in making it difficult to respond for critical patients in the important 8 to 12 minute timeframe.

All three Savannah hospitals continue to go in and out of diversion. When in diversion, EMS has to find another hospital to accept patients.

There are 85 bed E.D. beds total in Savannah. They are running a census of over 180 daily.

EGRMC's E.D. in Statesboro has 30 beds. They are seeing over 200 patients per day.

Nationally, many large metro EMS systems are having to adopt "altered" EMS response plans due to the systems being overloaded plus not enough paramedics.

Unless you are a critical patient, your wait time for some EMS services nationally may be 1-3 hours with some places are suggesting alternative destinations via POV.

Projections by the Mayo Clinic and others suggest we may not reach a peak until around September 11, 2021. This means our situation may worsen, before it gets better.

"We are experiencing predominantly a "pandemic of the unvaccinated". PLEASE Do your part: Get Vaccinated and "help save a life". This will make it safer for you, your family, neighbors and the rest of the community. The benefits of vaccination far outweigh the minuscule risks.  Your vaccination may make a huge difference in how sick you may become and how much higher level of care you need," Dr. Frank Davis, M.D.

95% of ALL COVID patients at EGRMC are NOT VACCINATED

Region J has 406 ED beds in use out of 361 total beds, or 112.47%

Region J has 211 ICU beds in use out of a total of 231 total ICU beds, or 91.34%.

Region J has 990 general inpatient beds in use out of 1,089 total beds, or 90.91%

Region J accounts for 13 hospitals from Savannah to Brunswick. See full list below.

All schools (including colleges) reported 141 new COVID cases last week in Bulloch County.

EGRMC and Area Hospitals working to manage COVID surge

EGRMC continues to report their E.D remains extremely busy. They are working to create as many non ICU bed space as possible. EGRMC is limited in total beds, but also facing challenges in staffing the beds.

Bulloch County EMS continues to see significant increase in COVID probably patients over the weekend and today.

Hospitals are nearing capacity in our region. This makes it very difficult to handle a continued surge. It also jeopardizes treatment of other non-COVID emergencies like accidents or heart attacks that require emergent care.

Vaccinated should now wear mask inside

In areas with substantial and high transmission (which includes Bulloch County https://dph.georgia.gov/county-indicator-reports), the CDC recommends that everyone (including fully vaccinated individuals) wear a mask in public indoor settings to help prevent spread of COVID-19 and the Delta variant.

FREE COVID TESTING DOWNTOWN STATESBORO

White COVID testing tent
Downtown FREE COVID-19 Testing Location

The Southeast Health District has expanded FREE COVID-19 testing at the downtown Statesboro location to daily testing. The testing location is in the parking lot located on the East Side of Railroad Street between Hill St and Courtland Street under a white drive thru tent.

Test are available now Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., Last Saturday of the month from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.

To schedule an appointment at the downtown COVID-19 testing site, you may call 1-855-473-4374, and a DPH agent will assist you. You can also schedule an appointment online by clicking here.

FREE and CONFIDENTIAL VACCINES

Grice Connect, due to a large request for information on how and where to get vaccines, has coordinated with two local pharmacies to give FREE – CONFIDENTIAL – SAFE COVID-19 vaccines.

With COVID-19 numbers climbing, hospitalizations, ICU and Vent patients nearing capacity, now is time to get vaccinated.

All you have to do is walk up and tell them Grice Connect sent you.

FREE – CONFIDENTIAL – SAFE COVID-19 VACCINE lOCATIONS

Forest Heights Pharmacy – 4439 Country Club Road, Statesboro, GA 30458 – 912-489-7979

Moderna (2 shots) and Johnson and Johnson (1 shot and done) 8:30 am to 6 pm

McCook’s Pharmacy – 23630 US-80, Statesboro, GA 30461 – 912-764-2223

  • Moderna (2 shots) 9:00 am to 6 pm
  • Pfizer (2 shots – 12 and up) 12 pm to 6 pm

CLICK HERE FOR FULL LIST OF FREE VACCINE LOCATIONS - Please get vaccinated today

E.D.


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About This Report:

A special thanks to Dr. Frank Davis, M.D. F.A.C.S, a retired trauma surgeon who lives in Bulloch County. He has worked closely with the Grice Connect team to design the COVID-19 dashboard and provide brief interpretation of the data. You will be seeing and hearing more from Dr. Davis as an important member of the GC team. We will continue to update and adapt the data in this report to make it relevant. We have shifted our emphasis to vaccinations, while continuing to provide daily Coroncavirus impact.

Thanks for supporting and following Grice Connect.