Some Coastal Georgia, Lowcountry hospitals postponing non-emergency surgeries
Due to the ongoing surge of COVID-19 cases, some Coastal Georgia and Lowcountry hospitals are postponing elective surgeries.
Due to the ongoing surge of COVID-19 cases, some Coastal Georgia and Lowcountry hospitals are postponing elective surgeries.
Due to the ongoing surge of COVID-19 cases, some Coastal Georgia and Lowcountry hospitals are postponing elective surgeries.
Amid the ongoing surge of COVID-19 infections, several Coastal Georgia and Lowcountry hospitals are putting a pause on non-emergency surgeries so they can have enough beds.
"We're the busiest we've ever been since the start of this pandemic," said Chief Medical Officer of Beaufort Memorial Kurt Gambla.
At this point, Gambla said there is no definitive end in sight for the current surge in infections caused by the delta variant.
"I think we've been doing this for six weeks or so. I don't know what the endpoint is. It's hard to read the tea leaves and know where this surge is going to end up and where it's going to level up," he said.
To ensure they don't run out of beds, Evans Memorial and Beaufort Memorial are postponing some elective surgeries where the patient would require post-op admission.
"Right now we want to reserve the beds as much as we can for our sicker patients," Gambla said.
Other hospitals are postponing all elective surgeries.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Memorial Health said, "Memorial Health has paused all elective surgeries that can wait without being detrimental to the patient. We are looking at cases each week to determine which if any cases could be paused to allow us to better serve our patients during this surge."
Beaufort Memorial told WJCL most of their patients are still unvaccinated so they encourage anyone who hasn't rolled up their sleeve yet to get the shot.
"It definitely helps. It definitely is protective and that's what's going to help us not only keep the population healthy but also to reserve our resources. If people get vaccinated, they're not coming in and using these beds weeks at a time," Gambla said.
Two Democratic lawmakers have asked Gov. Brian Kemp to suspend all elective surgeries across the State of Georgia.