NCMH and the pandemic

In my last Ask Bruce article dated May 2020, I addressed a new pandemic crisis COVID-19, which began for Newberry County Memorial Hospital (NCMH) mid-March 2020.

At that time:

– The Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) announced that Newberry County reported 26 positive cases and 10 of these positive cases in the zip code 29108.

– There were no confirmed deaths reported due to COVID-19.

– NCMH had not had any inpatients admitted due to COVID-19.

As of November 8, 2020:

– DHEC announced that Newberry County reported 1,660 confirmed positive cases.

– DHEC also announced 54 confirmed deaths due to the COVID-19 virus.

– NCMH has admitted 90 patients to either the ICU or the temporary COVID-19 Unit on the Medical Unit.

In the month of October, approximately 45 percent of the Inpatient Days reported were due to COVID-19 diagnosis codes.

The past six months have been extremely difficult for NCMH. Our physicians, our nurses, our ancillary departments such as Lab, Diagnostic Imaging, Respiratory Therapy, Rehab Therapies, Pharmacy, Material Management, Oncology/Chemo and EMS, our infection control nurse and our chief nursing officer have braved this storm with quality, compassion, empathy and class.

In the above paragraph, I mentioned the clinical staff. I, above anyone else, understand that my non-clinical employees have worked extremely hard during these months as well.

It has been a team effort. Employees and physicians have smiled, they have cried, they have gone without sleep, and they are tired. They have worn masks, changed scrubs constantly, worn N-95 masks, worn gloves, and continued to meet the needs of our patients and community.

In my 44 years of healthcare, I have never seen a state of emergency last this long. Nor have I seen so many lives affected. The difficult statement that I must tell you is nobody knows how much longer this will continue. This makes it very difficult to make decisions.

In the six years I have been the chief executive officer (CEO) at Newberry Hospital, I am proud to say we have always tried to do what is best for the patients and the residents of Newberry County. We have also tried to be respectful and supportive of our Medical Staff. This County has a great group of physicians who care about their patients. We are excited about maintaining our existing physicians, as well as recruiting new physicians. Recently we have added a new family practice physician, a new GYN physician and as of January 1, 2021, a new ENT (ear, nose and throat) full time physician will join our medical staff.

I am so proud of the team of “Heroes” at Newberry County Memorial Hospital. Even under the very toughest of times, the medical staff and our employees have “weathered the storm.”

I would be very remiss if I do not mention another group of “Heroes” that have been there through all the issues mentioned above. The Newberry County Memorial Hospital Governing Board members have been a solid rock during this time. This board continues to support additional spending for equipment, staffing/overtime, PPE (personal protective equipment) and continues to ask “What more can we do to support our Team?” These members are volunteers from your community and I am very proud to work as CEO for this Governing Board.

During these six months, we have had to change how the hospital operates. We have made changes to visiting hours, entry/access into the hospital and added screenings when you enter the hospital. The dining room and Wellness Center are closed to the community and employees. Our volunteers have been restricted for a period of time. We have encouraged social distancing and limited on-site meetings with our employees. We have just completed giving flu shots to our employees.

During this period, NCMH has followed directives and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and DHEC. The number one priority, “the safety of our patients, residents, medical staff and employees.” We made decisions that saw volumes and revenues reduce as much as 45 percent in some areas. Many areas have picked up volumes, however; we remain behind prior year volumes.

NCMH has handled these changes clinically and financially to make sure that when you need services at NCMH you receive quality, compassionate and safe care. We are able to care for your needs today as well as we did prior to COVID-19; however, the care may be or feel a little different with the precautions we take.

The hospital continues to be the major healthcare provider in Newberry County and we will all get through this together.