Wearing thin, SMH leadership now required to constantly evaluate situation, sometimes hourly

Sheridan County has added 17 new COVID cases in less than 24 hours, 16 lab confirmed and 1 probable case. 

According to COVID-19 Public Information Officer Jennifer Graves, since the pandemic began the county has experienced 3,324 lab confirmed cases and 953 probable cases. 

This brings the number of active cases in the Sheridan County community to 270. 

Eleven patients have recovered in the last 24 hours. 

Deaths of Sheridan County residents from the virus now total 38. 

According to Sheridan Memorial Hospital, 11 patients are hospitalized suffering from the virus. Two of those patients are in the Intensive Care Unit and one of the patients is currently on a ventilator. 

During a leadership meeting, SMH Chief Executive Officer Mike McCafferty informed the public that the other hospitals in the region are currently at max capacity. 

According to the Community Planning Framework for Healthcare Preparedness, “crisis standard of care” are defined as guidelines developed before disaster strikes to help healthcare providers decide how to administer the best possible care when there are not enough resources to give all patients the level of care they would receive under normal circumstances.

Currently, SMH leadership are evaluating the situation not only on a daily basis, but sometimes an hourly one. With resources and room wearing too thin, every aspect of care is looked at with the newest information possible; staff resources, supplies, medicines and other components involved in patient care. The hospital is also having to project what the future might look like in urgent, emergent and other ambulatory services that the hospital provides.   

The hospital is administering approximately 75 COVID-19 tests per day. With 83% of the COVID-19 hospitalizations being unvaccinated individuals, SMH Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Addlesperger encourages unvaccinated residents and those at a higher risk due to medical conditions to ask their healthcare provider about the antibody infusions that are available.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list Sheridan County’s level of community transmission as HIGH.

More COVID-19 information is available at www.sheridancounty.com/covid-19/.