CRH prepares for surge of patients as early as next week

Columbus Regional Health is still planning on an upcoming surge of patients with COVID-19.

Although that had been forecast for the last week of April or early May, CRH spokeswoman Kelsey DeClue said the surge could be coming next week. Some areas of the state are hitting their surge already, but forecasts for our area still show it hasn’t hit here yet.

DeClue said the potential surge further stresses the need for maintaining protective measures.

Hospital officials said that they are prepared to care for COVID-19 patients in the existing Intensive Care Unit but they are also making plans to use other patient care areas if needed. To that end, the hospital has been transforming those areas into netative air flow spaces, which takes air from in a room and exhausts it outside. Typically, that sort of arrangement has been used for patients with tuberculosis.

The hospital has converted the ICU, Post-Anesthesia Care Unit, and Outpatient Surgery areas and are ready for patient placement when needed. The hospital is prepared to take 12 patients in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit and there are 19 patient rooms in the outpatient surgery unit that could be used.

Another nine patients who are COVID-19 positive but who don’t require an ICU-level of care could be treated in the Oupatient Cath Lab, which has also been converted to negative air flow.

From a patient’s perspective, the rooms will still look the same, hospital officials said.

Adam Spartz, Command Center and Inpatient Operations Director for the hospital, said We all hope we dont have to utilize any of these spaces, however, we are prepared as healthcare providers to deliver on the expectations we and the community have for CRH.