Greater Channahon Minooka Area Chamber Of Commerce Inc issued the following announcement on Nov. 26.
Since reaching an all-time high of 41 hospitalized COVID patients last week, Morris Hospital is reporting fewer COVID hospitalizations at the start of this week, with 28 on Tuesday morning representing 47% of the total hospitalized patients.
While there have not been any additional surgery postponements since last week, the surgery schedule continues to be evaluated daily to assure beds will be available the next day for patients who will require an overnight hospital stay.
“The situation has improved compared to one week ago and that is good news, but we’re still in a very fluid situation,” said Mark Steadham, President & CEO of Morris Hospital & Healthcare Centers, noting that state wide, COVID hospitalizations continue to rise. “For a hospital our size with 89 total beds, it doesn’t take much to put us at capacity. That’s what happened last week when we had 29 admissions in a 24 hour period.”
Even with the reduction in COVID hospitalizations in the past few days, 28 COVID positive inpatients is considerably higher than Morris Hospital experienced during the first wave last spring when the peak occurred on April 24 with 14 COVID positive inpatients.
“It’s important that everyone understands we are seeing the surge that has been predicted for months,” said Steadham. “At the end of October, we were averaging about 10 hospitalized COVID patients per day. Two weeks later, we jumped up to the 20s, and then last week we were in the 30s and went as high as 41. That is a considerable increase for us.”
Steadham said what happens next will be dependent on behaviors over the coming days and weeks.
“Across the country, we have seen a pattern of COVID-19 spread after Memorial Day, after Fourth of July, after Labor Day, and even two weeks after Halloween,” said Steadham. “This last surge has been more detrimental than anything we’ve experienced before, putting us at a critical point with the virus. This is not the time to let down your guard. It’s time to be more vigilant than ever, and that’s why we are urging everyone to celebrate Thanksgiving and the holidays responsibly. This is how you can keep your loved ones safe and help your local hospitals and healthcare providers.”
“Each one of us is contributing to the course of history right now. Our actions in the coming days and week will determine the outcome,” he added.
Original source can be found here.
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