Georgia recorded its third straight day of high numbers of COVID deaths, with the 142 reported Thursday bringing the state\u2019s three-day total to 424.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new figure neared Tuesday\u2019s record number of 145.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The medical strain from the post-holiday COVID surge, meanwhile, is being felt in hospitals across the state. And that pressure may increase even more, at least in the short term, experts say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The state\u2019s Department of Public Health reported more than 9,000 new COVID-19 infections Thursday. Georgia\u2019s rate of positives on COVID tests is about 20 percent, far above the target level of 5 percent or less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta\u2019s safety-net giant, is at capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 162 COVID patients at Grady represent its highest total since the pandemic began, said Dr. Robert Jansen, Grady Health System\u2019s chief medical officer. \u201cIt goes up every day,\u2019\u2019 he told GHN on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jansen said he doesn\u2019t think the virus surge has yet peaked. \u201cI think the crest of the surge will probably be in another seven to 10 days.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The state has reopened a 60-bed temporary hospital at the Georgia World Congress Center<\/a>, a convention facility in downtown Atlanta. Jansen said there were 41 COVID patients there Thursday morning. \u201cThey\u2019re coming from all over the state,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The patients at the center don\u2019t require critical care services, Jansen added. Accommodating them there, however, relieves some of the pressure on hospitals treating sicker patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said other large hospital systems in metro Atlanta<\/a>, such as Wellstar, Emory, Piedmont and Northside, \u201care pretty much in the same shape we\u2019re in. Everybody\u2019s resources are stretched right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The COVID vaccine, despite its rocky rollout, eventually will help curb the spread of the disease, he said, though \u201cit\u2019s too early now\u2019\u2019 to see that happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rising numbers of COVID hospitalizations<\/a> are being reported across the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wellstar Health System said Thursday that all 11 of its hospitals are seeing a surge in patient volumes, with most operating at full or over capacity. \u201cWe continue to monitor closely to ensure that we have the supplies, beds, and caregivers where they need to be,\u201d Wellstar said in a statement. \u201cOur greatest challenge currently is having enough staff to care for patients, many of whom are critically ill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Marietta-based system said it has 730 COVID patients admitted to its hospitals, and another 81 under investigation for the disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Emory Healthcare also is seeing a big increase in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have surpassed the number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in critical and acute care as compared to any time since the pandemic started,\u201d Emory said in a statement. \u201cThe rapid and continued rise in cases remains very concerning. Given the impact of holiday gatherings, we do not anticipate any reduction in cases over the next few weeks, which will only make a very difficult situation more extreme. We continuously monitor the capacity of our hospitals across Emory Healthcare to ensure we can care for all patients, with or without COVID-19.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Atlanta-based Northside Hospital System<\/a> said it has seen a 365% increase in total COVID-19 patients over the last two months. COVID patients currently comprise 48% of Northside\u2019s overall patient population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Augusta, hospitals are setting records when it comes COVID patients and then breaking those records a day or two later, the Augusta Chronicle reported Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re doing a lot of very creative things to create capacity within the system,\u201d said Dr. Phillip Coule, the chief medical officer at AU Health System, which set a record Thursday by treating 122 COVID-19 patients. \u201cWe\u2019re currently over capacity right now, and that\u2019s not including the patients that we are managing in other facilities via telemedicine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re at capacity,\u201d said Dr. John Farr, the chief medical officer for Doctors Hospital of Augusta, where there are 83 COVID-19 patients, two short of an all-time high. \u201cIt\u2019s just that the patients don\u2019t stop coming, so you have to find ways to create a little bit more capacity to take care of them. So capacity is a moving target.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf we need to convert additional areas, we\u2019ll do what we need to do,\u201d said Reyne Gallup, the executive vice president and chief operating officer for acute care services at University Hospital, which hit its high of 140 last week but has hovered just below that on most days since, the Chronicle reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gov. Brian Kemp<\/a>, in his annual State of the State address on Thursday, praised health care workers for their heroism and sacrifice in fighting COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Referring to the pandemic, Kemp said that \u201cwe can now see the light at the end of this tunnel,\u201d and pointed out that 283,000 Georgians had been vaccinated as of Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said health care workers in Georgia<\/a> have \u201cliterally faced hell on earth\u201d during the 10 months of COVID-19. He specifically praised the work at Phoebe Putney Health System in Albany<\/a> early in the pandemic. During that time, the Albany<\/a> area, in southwest Georgia, had some of the worst COVID rates in the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPushed to the limit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Governor thanks, praises health workers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n