‘We are not making up numbers’: A look into local COVID-19 units
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - With climbing cases and concerns, we have an inside look at one of the local COVID-19 units where the sickest patients are being cared for.
“I would like everyone to know COVID is here,” said Dr. Ioana Chirca, medical director for infection prevention at University Hospital. “It’s real. It’s not a drill. We are not making up numbers. This is what we see, so it’s very serious.”
University Hospital tells us there is only one unit in the entire hospital that does not have a COVID-19 patient. And it’s not just University Hospital seeing this spike.
This graph shows us the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Augusta in the past week. University Hospital is in green with just under 100 inpatients Tuesday. Augusta University Health is in blue at 77 inpatients. And Doctors Hospital in red with 40. You can see all three taking on more and more patients each day.
Not only are cases rising but the beds in the COVID units at University are also filling up. They’re not at the point where hospital officials are worried about not having enough beds, but if numbers continue trending upward, they could be within the next two weeks.
“We have watched many people die. And we thought, and we were hoping that it’s over. And now we’re back at it,” said Chirca.
After seeing a peak of COVID-19 patients in January things started looking up. But now doctors are once again on high alert.
“We’re seeing a very steep increase in the number of patients who are being tested positive, and also the ones who are itted to the hospital,” said Chirca.
Chirca is an infectious disease expert at University Hospital. She says in the last few weeks, she’s seen a lot more COVID cases in a shorter time frame than before.
“Patients are typically unvaccinated,” she said.
The hospital’s peak for COVID patients was back in January with 149 patients. Right now, it’s at 91. Only 59 patients away from matching the peak, the concern now is staffing.
“We have beds; we don’t have people to staff them,” she said.
And it’s not just University, AU’s peak back in January was about 150 patients, too. Now it’s at 77.
“My biggest worry is that we’re gonna fill up all the hospitals. ... The hospitals in Georgia, many of them are already on diversion,” said Jose Vazquez, AU Health chief of infectious disease.
He says by the end of the week, he projects the hospital will reach 90 patients. If it reach around 100 next week, “that will pretty much shut down the hospital.”
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