SMH beds begin to fill with COVID-19 patients as active cases surge in Sheridan County

Sheridan County has had 5,072 lab confirmed cases, with 68 new lab confirmed cases being reported over the weekend. 

There are now 272 cases of COVID-19 currently active in Sheridan County, according to COVID-19 Public Information Officer Jennifer Graves. 

The real concern of Sheridan Memorial Hospital leadership is the increase in those cases requiring hospitalization. Currently, there are 13 patients hospitalized in Sheridan County battling the virus. The county has experienced the deaths of 63 residents to the virus.

According to SMH Chief Executive Officer Mike McCafferty, the ability to transfer patients to other hospitals in the region has been on a case by case basis long before the omicron surge began. 

In an effort to prevent hospitals from the overcrowding of COVID-19 patients, Sheridan Memorial has been prescribing antibody infusions and Merck’s COVID-19 treatment pill, molnupiravir.

The Food and Drug Administration has given emergency approval to two drugs that have shown to lessen the symptoms of the virus, Merck’s drug and one from Pfizer.  

Although Sheridan Memorial Hospital does not have a supply of the Pfizer medication due to the high demand across the nation, the hospital is prescribing the pill developed by Merck. 

SMH Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Addlesperger. 

To learn more about the Pfizer and Merck drugs, click here. 

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/.