COVID hospitalizations reach June levels
Beebe Healthcare President and CEO Dr. David Tam admits he’s feeling pandemic fatigue.
Now seven months into the battle against COVID-19, he said there’s a longing to spend time with friends and family. But, he said, it’s important for everyone to keep their eyes on the ball.
“Perhaps some of our discipline has slipped,” he said during an Oct. 19 town hall meeting. “Now is the time to reevaluate and reassess what we are doing so we make sure we do everything we can to flatten the curve, and see if we can beat down the COVID-19 numbers in our part of the county.”
The town hall was held as positive cases and hospitalizations statewide have begun increasing more rapidly. Since statewide hospitalizations dipped to 29 on Aug. 16, they have steadily increased and have been back over 100 since Oct. 7. The last time the state reported 100 hospitalizations was June 11 – down about a third from the state's high of 326 hospitalizations posted on April 26. Beebe officials did not say how many COVID-19 patients they have, but Gov. John Carney mentioned an increase of cases in his Oct. 20 press conference.
“Disproportionally, the number of those cases and hospitalizations are coming from the lower part of our state, from Beebe in particular … Dr. Tam from Beebe talked about the high number of COVID-19 patients in his hospital,” Carney said.
Carney said Beebe has also had patients come to the hospital for procedures unrelated to COVID-19 who then test positive for the virus.
“It is an area of concern and it does point in the direction of Sussex County, not any place in a particular area, but higher levels,” Carney said.
Things were looking good through the summer and early fall, and at one point in September, Beebe Healthcare reported two weeks of no patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
But the rising cases and hospitalizations forced Beebe to revise its visitor policy Oct. 14, restricting access at the Margaret H. Rollins Lewes Campus and other locations.
Dr. Bill Chasanov, Beebe’s COVID-19 medical director, said complacency among people across the country and world is contributing to the latest increase.
“We’re all tired of hearing about COVID-19,” he said. “We need to do what’s right, not just for us, but our families, co-workers, neighbors and entire community. Simple acts, like putting on a mask, will save someone’s life.”
Citing publicly available information, Chasanov said contact tracing of recently infected people has determined the most commonly visited venues are restaurants, religious services, the beach, weddings and gyms. Even though regulations have loosened over the last few months, he said, it’s still important to follow guidelines.
“Washing hands, physically distancing, are all just as important as they were six, seven months ago,” he said.
Dr. Bobby Gulab, chief medical officer of the Beebe Medical Group, echoed the importance of staying focused.
“Everybody has their role and their part to play,” he said. “We all want to move on and put this pandemic behind us.”
Melissa Steele contributed to this report.
