Phoebe milestone: Hospital closes COVID-19 units at Phoebe North
File Photo: Carlton Fletcher
From staff reports
ALBANY — With a decrease of 87% since the omicron surge peak in late January and a 30% decrease in the last week, officials with Phoebe Putney Health System announced they had closed the system’s last remaining COVID-19 units at Phoebe North.
“With decreasing numbers, we reached a milestone in our COVID fight this week when we were able to close our last remaining COVID-19 units at Phoebe North,” Phoebe Health System President/CEO Scott Steiner said in a news release. “Our team did an amazing job quickly standing up multiple acute care and intensive care units at that hospital campus when COVID cases exploded in our region, and we appreciate the assistance we received from the state in that effort.
“Phoebe North served as our primary COVID inpatient treatment facility for most of the pandemic, but we have reached a point where it is more efficient to care for COVID patients in renovated COVID care areas on our main campus.”
The latest COVID numbers for the hospital system included:
♦ Total COVID-19 patients in Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital: 20;
♦ Total COVID-19 patients in Phoebe Sumter Medical Center: 4;
♦ Total COVID-19 patients in Phoebe Worth Medical Center: 1;
♦ Total inpatients that have recovered: 4,230;
♦ Total COVID-related deaths at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital — 455;
♦ Total COVID-related deaths at Phoebe Sumter: 123;
♦ Total COVID-related deaths at Phoebe Worth: 1;
♦ Total vaccines administered: 79,122.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its COVID-19 community levels this week, and southwest Georgia counties are no longer listed as high. Sumter is in the low level, while Dougherty, Lee, Worth and most other area counties are in the medium category. Based on those levels, the CDC no longer recommends universal indoor masking in our region.
“The CDC still recommends everyone stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and boosters and isolate if they have COVID symptoms, but based on our current level of virus transmission, it is not necessary to wear masks in public settings,” Phoebe Putney Health System Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dianna Grant said. “We still must require masks in all Phoebe facilities, and we encourage anyone who is immunocompromised or desires an extra layer of protection, to continue to mask up, as long as that makes them feel more comfortable.”
For more details on the CDC’s mask guidance or to check a county’s COVID-19 community level, visit www.cdc.gov.
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