St. Joseph Mercy Livingston hospital strained by COVID-19 surge: 'It's the most we've seen'
St. Joseph Mercy Livingston hospital is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations unrivaled since the beginning of the pandemic.
As of Monday, there were 45 patients with COVID-19 at the Howell hospital, according to hospital officials.
"It's the most we've seen," said Dr. Varsha Moudgal, the hospital's associate chief medical officer.
Moudgal said 31 in-patients are COVID-19 positive with eight in the intensive care unit.
"The entire intensive care unit is COVID patients."
In addition, she said there were 14 more people with COVID-19 admitted in the emergency department waiting for beds on Monday.
She said the hospital currently has a total of 42 staffed beds.
She said most COVID-19 patients at the hospital are unvaccinated and unvaccinated patients are experiencing more severe cases.
"We're seeing young, otherwise healthy people with severe illness including being on a ventilator," Moudgal said. "We know this is a preventable case if they had been vaccinated."
She said cases among vaccinated people are usually more mild.
"The ones that are vaccinated and need to be admitted are the ones that have a lot of underlying co-morbid conditions," she said.
Feeling the strain
The spike in COVID-19 hospitalizations is putting a strain on hospitals across the state, including in Howell.
"In the ER it will impact wait times as we are attempting to take care of patients but we are open and available to care for the community," Moudgal said.
She said when the hospital reaches capacity it can get assistance from other hospitals in the Trinity Health system.
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"We have sister hospitals that come to our aid when patients need care," Moudgal said. "But the situation is across Michigan. It's not just us. This is similar across the state, if not all hospitals in Michigan. We continue to do our best and need the community's help."
She stressed that people should still come to the emergency room with medical emergencies of any type.
"Our ER is able to serve them," Moudgal said.
She asks that people seeking a COVID-19 test find other locations to help ease strain on the hospital.
"If all you want is a test, we ask that you utilize alternate testing centers."
Hospital spokesperson Bobby Maldonado said the number of patients on a given day fluctuates.
"I'm impressed by how they are creatively moving patients and working to discharge patients safely, so the numbers ebb and flow," Maldonado said.
Moudgal said she continues to hear about a lot of misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines circulating in the community.
"A number of patients say they have heard it is poison or has DNA in it," she said. "It doesn't have DNA. It has RNA in it, but it doesn't last. It doesn't linger in the body. It doesn't contain microchips or poison."
Record high case rate
LCHD health officials are reporting a surge in new cases in the county.
"Recently, Livingston County has reported its highest COVID-19 rates ever experienced," LCHD spokesperson Courtney Rynkiewicz said Monday in an email.
Rynkiewicz said the county reported on Nov. 23 there were 879 weekly cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents.
She said the previous record of 606 weekly cases per 100,000 residents was reported in April.
"Livingston County’s 7-day test positivity rate also spiked to 23.4% on Nov. 23, 2021," she said in the email. "In comparison, the 7-day test positivity rate reached a peak of 17.9% during the Spring 2021 surge. These recent spikes in case and test positivity rates serve as reminders that we cannot let our guard down against COVID-19."
County health officials reported Monday there have been 28,453 cases of COVID-19 in the county. Of those 637 were hospitalized and 273 died.
Vaccine, booster shots widely available
Vaccine appointments are now widely available through the Livingston County Health Department, health care providers and pharmacies.
In the county, 57.7% residents were fully vaccinated and 63.1% had received at least one dose as of Nov. 24, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
Residents can schedule appointments for vaccines and booster shots from the health department on the county's vaccination scheduling webpage, at www.livgov.com/health/ph/Pages/COVID-19-Vaccination-Scheduling.aspx or find more locations on vaccines.gov.
Health officials recommend adults who received the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines to get a booster shot six months after their second dose. They recommend people who received a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine receive a booster after two months.
The county is also providing free Pfizer vaccinations for children ages 5 years or older.
"Vaccination is still the best public health prevention strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic," Rynkiewicz said in the email.
LCHD officials recommend people find COVID-19 testing locations at Michigan.gov/CoronavirusTest.
More information about COVID-19 cases, vaccinations and testing can be found on the LCHD's website at livgov.com/health
Contact Livingston Daily reporter Jennifer Timar at jtimar@livingstondaily.com. Follow her on Twitter @jennifer_timar.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Howell hospital St. Joseph Mercy Livingston strained by COVID-19 surge
