Avera St. Mary’s Hospital and the Avera Pierre Clinic are implementing surge measures because of an increase in the number of COVID-19 patients needing treatment.
President and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mikel Holland says while the number of COVID-19 patients varies daily, they continue to see a steady increase in both positive cases and people needing hospitalization.
Holland says the public can help flatten the curve.
Holland says hospital bed capacity changes on a regular basis.
The majority of people who become ill will not need to be hospitalized, but Holland says projections show the number of people needing hospital care could increase substantially by mid-month (Nov.). He says the hospital and the clinic surge plan includes reducing planned surgeries and clinic appointments to allow the clinic to redeploy staff to areas of greatest need.
Holland says typically as the state sees the positive number of COVID-19 tests increase, hospitalizations also increase in the one to two weeks following.
Holland says people should still come in with illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and other chronic issues. He says the health system is seeing individuals who may have delayed care for chronic illness due to circumstances from the pandemic and Avera offers virtual care whenever possible.
Hear the entire conversation with Dr. Holland in this KGFX Beyond the Mic podcast or by playing this audio:
More information on the Avera St. Mary’s Hospital and Avera Pierre Clinic surge plan is below.
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Avera St. Mary’s Hospital in Pierre is implementing surge measures because of an increase in the number of COVID-19 patients needing treatment.
President and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mikel Holland says while the number of COVID-19 patients varies daily, they continue to see a steady increase in both positive cases and people needing hospitalization. He says the majority of people who become ill will not need to be hospitalized, but projections show hospitalizations could increase substantially by mid-month (Nov.).
Holland says the hospital and the clinic surge plan includes reducing planned surgeries and clinic appointments. He says this allows the clinic to redeploy staff to areas of greatest need, so over the next few days and weeks, patients may receive phone calls to reschedule upcoming appointments.
Holland says hospital bed capacity changes on a regular basis. He says Avera has been preparing for patient surges for months and are equipped to manage the increase in demand. He says everyone needs to do their part to reduce the spread of COVID-19. “Now is our time to make a difference. Together we can help reduce the number of hospitalizations and deaths,” Holland said.
The public can help “flatten the curve” and lessen the surge of patients by practicing good hygiene, social distancing and wearing masks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has affirmed that wearing masks can help communities slow the spread of COVID-19 when worn consistently and correctly by a majority of people in public settings. Masks are most effective when used along with other preventive measures including social distancing, frequent handwashing, cleaning and disinfecting.
“These measures might seem insignificant, but they are vitally important toward our efforts to decrease the numbers of people who become severely ill or die from this virus. We ask everyone to please do your part – it will help save lives,” Holland said.
Holland says typically as the state sees the positive number of COVID-19 tests increase, hospitalizations also increase in the one to two weeks following. He says to create space for additional patients, the hospital has been converting private patient rooms into semi-private rooms as needed. If numbers continue to climb, the hospital may also expand and create patient rooms in other areas of the facility.
Holland says people should still come in with illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and other chronic issues. He says as a whole, the health system is also seeing individuals who may have delayed care for chronic illness due to circumstances from the pandemic. For that reason it is necessary to keep clinics and services open. Avera offers virtual care whenever possible.
Monitor your health daily and watch for symptoms such as fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and/or diarrhea. If you feel you might have this virus, please call Avera Medical Group Pierre at 605-224-5901 or call 1-877-AT-AVERA (1-877-282-8372).
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