Columbus hospitals will not provide data on COVID patients despite surge in new cases
Columbus hospitals will not be regularly reporting COVID-19 related hospitalization numbers and data to the public, officials say, despite other Georgia hospital systems doing the same as cases and hospitalizations increase.
St. Francis Emory-Healthcare is not reporting this information publicly, said director of marketing and communications Grant Farrimond in an email to the Ledger-Enquirer. Piedmont Healthcare will also not be reporting this information, Jessica Roberts, senior communications specialist at Piedmont, said.
“We typically don’t release information on the number of patients on any given day for any specific treatment, like heart, cancer or stroke patients,” Roberts said in an email. “We’re using that same standard for COVID-19, and we trust that the relevant state health and emergency management agencies are the best source for ongoing information.”
St. Francis has seen an increase in confirmed positive cases, said Farrimond, mirroring COVID-19 hospitalization trends seen statewide. He did not provide further information prior to publication on why the hospital won’t share data publicly.
“Do not wait to seek care in a medical emergency,” Farrimond said. “Those who are experiencing signs and symptoms of life-threatening medical situations such as a heart attack or stroke, should call 911 immediately and seek care at the closest medical facility.”
What data is available publicly?
The local health department does not have access to hospitalization numbers, and the state website only lists the cumulative number of hospitalizations by counties, said Pamela Kirkland, spokesperson for the West Central Health District.
However, the number of hospitalizations only includes cases that were diagnosed while a person was hospitalized, and doesn’t capture hospitalizations that occur after a confirmed case was reported, according to information on the Georgia Department of Public Health website.
This means the number of hospitalizations reported by DPH is an underestimation and doesn’t represent the number of COVID-19 cases currently hospitalized.
There are state-supported online dashboards that share some hospital information.
One is DPH’s Georgia Hospital Bed/Ventilator Capacity Dashboard that breaks the state into regions. Region I — which includes Muscogee, Harris and Chattahoochee counties, among others — has 85% of inpatient beds in use. City- and hospital-level information is not available in this database.
Additionally, a dashboard for the Georgia Coordinating Center tracks emergency department capacity and diversion status, meaning patients may be sent to other facilities for treatment. However, this information is meant for internal use, like first responders deciding where to take a patient, and changes frequently throughout the day. The information may not always be accurate.
On Thursday morning in Muscogee County, the emergency department at Piedmont’s Midtown campus was listed as “severe.” Piedmont’s Northside campus and St. Francis hospital were listed as “busy.”
What are other hospitals sharing?
Other hospitals in Georgia are more open about their COVID-19 data. The Northeast Georgia Health System has created an online dashboard that provides information like the number of confirmed positive cases in their care, the percentage of positive patients who are not vaccinated and the average age of COVID-19 patients. The dashboard is updated daily.
The Southeast Georgia Health System is also reporting data to the public. The dashboard is updated daily and provides information on the number of COVID-positive inpatients, testing and the county vaccination rate. However, the dashboard does not specify how many COVID-19 positive patients are vaccinated.
Across the river from Columbus, the East Alabama Medical Center has been regularly posting COVID-19 data and updates on their Facebook page. The page includes information on the number of coronavirus patients and a breakdown of their vaccination status. The posts also include information about the ages of the patients being treated.
“We hope our COVID data helps you understand the impact of COVID-19 and vaccinations in our community,” reads a post Northeast Georgia Health System’s Facebook page.
