MACON, Ga. — As Central Georgia is battling its fourth COVID-19 surge, one hospital official tells 13WMAZ that this is one of the most challenges waves they've had to respond to.
Hospitals across the state are seeing a surging number of COVID-19 cases, overcrowded ERs, and now staffing shortages. The Medical Center, Atrium Health Navicent in Macon is one of those hospitals.
13WMAZ sat at down with the Chief Medical Officer to talk about what her hospital is seeing.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Patrice Walker says this surge is more of a challenge than the previous three. She says there's two reasons why, beginning with the Delta variant.
"The number of cases that we're seeing or the pace that we're seeing is exponentially more than before," Walker said.
The other hurdle is staffing shortages--something the whole state is seeing. The CEO of the Georgia Nurses Association told Georgia Health News on Wednesday that the nursing shortage in the state "is worse than ever."
Walker says the shortage isn't just in nursing.
"We have respiratory therapists. We have clinical techs. We have lab and phlebotomy. Everyone that it takes to give healthcare are being affected," Walker said.
But why is Atrium seeing the shortage even more now? Walker says during previous surges, the state provided supplemental contract staff.
"Over time, as numbers went down and so did that supplemental staff, appropriately so. Now, as numbers go back up, we don't have that staff, at least immediately available," Walker said.
On top of average amount of retirements, Walker says more folks are deciding to retire early because of the pandemic.
"I think that right now if you don't have to be in healthcare, a lot of people are choosing to take other career paths, and then we have people who are infected or exposed and out for long periods of time," Walker said.
She says staffing, the amount of people coming to the ER, and the surge of cases have driven up the ER wait times. Atrium, like Piedmont Macon and other hospitals in the areas are seeing severe overcrowding. This has lead to ER diversions, where patients transported by ambulance to the ER are directed to other hospitals.
Friday morning, Atrium Health Navicent was listed as "severe" and reported diversions from the ER, ICU, labor and delivery, neuro/stroke, and NICU, according to the Georgia Coordinating Center (GCC).
In some cases this week, Piedmont Macon and Piedmont Macon North (previously known as Coliseum Medical Centers and Coliseum Northside Hospital) has seen "total diversion," according to the GCC.
Walker says now, Atrium is being forced to come up with innovative ways to keep the patient-staff ratio safe.
"It may be that we have you know a few beds in a certain area that we close so we can use the people that would normally work there in a more efficient manner," Walker said.
Just this week, the hospital announced they will curtail elective surgeries. Walker says this allows them to move staff around to respond to the pandemic.
So far, this affects only elective surgeries that will require hospitalization afterward. It does not affect outpatient procedures.
"We never want someone who needs it procedure to not be able to get it, you know, based off of the decision that we made, but the flipside of that is if you're going to need to come into the hospital and stay in the hospital and we've got to have a bed to put you in, we have to have the staff to take care of you," Walker said.
We also reached out to Piedmont Macon about their staffing situation.
Spokesperson Laura Stauter says Piedmont Macon is not short-staffed, but that the hospital is definitely "stretched thin." She added that many nurses are having to work longer hours because of it.
Friday afternoon, we asked Atrium how short staffed they are. They did not provide any number to quantify it but provided a statement:
“Like other health systems, Atrium Health Navicent continues to provide high-quality care while experiencing increased patient volumes and adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are thankful for our teammates’ daily dedication and hard work. As our nation faces a growing need for healthcare workers, we are continuing to employ creative strategies to grow our workforce and promote economic success in the region while ensuring health, hope and healing for all.”