34: SPACE COAST LIVING | SPACECOASTLIVING.COM On June 19, the staff of Parrish Medical
Center was anticipating a zero COVID-19
patient party in its near future. On that day,
only two patients at the Titusville hospital
were hospitalized with the virus.
The party, unfortunately, was not to be, because just 10
days later, Parrish was treating 46 COVID patients, six of
them in the ICU.
“It was almost twice as what we had in July 2020,” said
Edwin Loftin, Parrish’s senior vice president of Integrated
and Acute Care Services and chief nursing officer.
Of the 130 patients hospitalized in the beginning of August
at Parrish Medical Center, 63 were COVID-positive
and 19 were on ventilators requiring ICU-level care.
As hospitals, private practices and group homes were
just starting to think the worst was behind them, a major
uptick, caused primarily by a younger, unvaccinated
population, brought everyone back to battle mode. The
three major hospital systems worked in tandem to meet
Battle
isn’t
over
Medical, safety
communities ramp
up response as
coronavirus cases rise
By Maria Sonnenberg
the significant insurgence in cases that have nearly
doubled every week for several weeks in a row.
OVERFLOW TENT RETURNS
In early August, Parrish activated its overflow tent in the
parking lot in an effort to decompress high Emergency
Department volumes and provide a safe place to treat
lower acuity, non-COVID patients.
“The current surge of COVID patients is stressing every
health-care system and hospital to their limits,” said
Parrish Medical Center president/CEO George Mikitarian.
Drivers who went by a Health First hospital also noticed
tents outside the four hospitals in the health-care
system. Like Parrish’s, the tents allowed for Emergency
Department overflow to treat new patients safely and
open additional capacity options.
Outpatient labs at Holmes Regional Medical Center, Cape
Canaveral and Palm Bay hospitals and Health First’s
>>
County health and medical
personnel believe the best
way to avoid the coronavirus
is to follow CDC mask
protocol and get vaccinated.
HEALTH FIRST
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