More than 80% of COVID-19 patients at St. Francis-Emory are unvaccinated, CEO says
St. Francis-Emory Healthcare is currently treating over 60 positive COVID-19 patients, more than 80% of whom are unvaccinated, CEO Melody Trimble said.
As part of the hospital’s push to get residents in Columbus and surrounding areas vaccinated, St. Francis-Emory will host a mobile vaccine clinic Friday from 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. The hospital partnered with the Georgia Department of Public Health to offer three total drive-through clinics and have administered more than 200 vaccinations to date, Trimble said in an email Thursday to the Ledger-Enquirer.
The healthcare system will work with the West Central Health District to determine the next steps once the clinics are completed this week.
Last week, Trimble urged residents to get vaccinated stating that the conditions at St. Francis-Emory were “unsustainable” due to the increase in COVID-19 patients. The hospital does not maintain a daily dashboard of COVID-19 patient statistics, Trimble said, because it is not sustainable for their team at this time.
The hospital’s team is working to respond to the surge in cases and meeting patients’ needs with the available resources, she added.
“While no one has a crystal ball to predict the future, one thing is for sure — consistently operating at the very edge of our capacity puts a lot of additional pressure on our staff and resources, and creates a challenging environment overall,” she said.
St. Francis-Emory is continuing to focus on recruiting healthcare professionals amid a nationwide workforce shortage in the industry. The system hired more than 40 new employees in both clinical and non-clinical roles during the Career Expo last week, Trimble said.
The best way the community can help the hospital combat COVID-19 is by getting vaccinated, she said, and also continuing to follow social distancing guidelines, wearing a mask in public areas and hand washing.
Here are the latest COVID-19 trends in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties, according to DPH data.
Muscogee County
Muscogee County reported a two-week case rate of 538 cases per 100,000 people, as of Sept. 23. The two-week case rate dropped below 600 cases per 100,000 this week for the first time since Aug. 17.
There were 1,030 coronavirus cases reported in Muscogee County in the last two weeks. This is down from last Thursday, when the number of cases reported within two weeks was 1,221. The seven-day moving average on Sept. 23 was 52 cases.
The seven-day moving average is found by taking the number of cases reported in the last seven days, adding them up and then dividing by seven.
In the last week, Muscogee County reported four deaths from COVID-19. There have been 479 deaths from COVID-19 in Muscogee County since the start of the pandemic.
Over the last week, 4,021 new viral tests were reported, and Muscogee County’s test positivity rate for the past two weeks is 17.7%.
There are 83,139 residents (42%) in Muscogee County who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 72,775 (37%) are fully vaccinated.
Chattahoochee County
Chattahoochee County reported a two-week case rate of 456 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people on Sept. 23. There were 211 new cases reported in the county during the last two weeks, the highest it’s been so far this month.
The number of cases in a two-week period has fluctuated throughout September, the lowest number occurring on Sept. 9 when 33 cases were reported in two weeks.
The county has not reported any deaths in September so far. There have been 4,605 cases and 13 deaths since the pandemic began.
There were 96 new viral tests reported in the last week, and Chattahoochee County’s test positivity rate for the past two weeks is 24.1%.
It is important to note that all residents and soldiers-in-training at Fort Benning who test positive for COVID-19 are counted in Chattahoochee County’s totals.
Chattahoochee County has fully vaccinated only 19% of its residents, as of Sept. 23, a 1.5% increase from Sept. 1. Residents who have received at least one dose of the vaccine increased from 21% to 22% during the same time period.
As of Sept. 23, 2,308 residents in Chattahoochee County have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 1,975 residents are fully vaccinated.
Georgia update
Total cases: 1,203,812 (+26,290 reported since Sept. 17). The number of new cases reported in a day may not match the difference in total cases over a 24-hour period. This occurs because previously reported cases may be removed as duplicate reports are corrected. An older confirmed case may also be reclassified as additional information is collected during an investigation.
Variant of Concern: 96.86% of COVID-19 cases in Georgia are estimated to be caused by the delta variant, according to the CDC.
Vaccination Rate: 54% of Georgians have received at least one dose, while 47% are fully vaccinated.
Total deaths: 21,865 (+723 deaths since Sept. 17). It’s important to note that these numbers indicate when deaths are reported to the Georgia Department of Public Health. It does not reflect when these deaths occurred.
Positivity rate for Georgia today: 11.3%. The rate over the past two weeks is 12.8% positive.
Current COVID hospitalizations: 307 hospitalizations reported on Sept. 23.
More information about COVID-19 data in Georgia can be found on DPH’s COVID-19 status website.
This story was originally published September 24, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
