Hilton Head area hospitals report COVID-19 surge: ‘This is truly the toughest it’s been’
Hilton Head and Coastal Carolina hospitals are treating more COVID-19 patients than ever before, according to CEO Jeremy Clark, who provided a grim update on the coronavirus to local leaders Wednesday.
“This is truly the toughest it’s been,” Clark said during a virtual Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce event.
The two hospitals, as of Wednesday morning, were treating 44 coronavirus patients, Clark said. Ten of those people were in intensive care unit beds.
In comparison, there were 28 COVID-19 patients at the medical centers on Jan. 8, which was the height of the Lowcountry’s winter surge.
“Patients are sicker than we’ve seen in the previous spikes,” the CEO said Wednesday.
He added that those hospitalized now with COVID-19 are generally younger than the medical centers’ patients from earlier in the pandemic.
“It really doesn’t have to be this way,” Clark said. “This is largely preventable. I want you to know that the vast majority, around 80% of the COVID-positive patients that we have hospitalized, are not vaccinated.”
Hilton Head Regional Healthcare, he said, has been forced to mostly restrict visitation amid the latest wave of infections. Some day-shift nurses, Clark added, are switching to night shifts to help with the local coronavirus response.
Hilton Head Hospital also has set up a tent outside of its emergency department for COVID-19 screening and testing, according to spokeswoman Daisy Burroughs. (The health care system has an adequate supply of personal protective equipment and ventilators, Clark said.)
“Getting the vaccine is the No. 1 thing that you can do to keep yourself, your family and our community safe during these times,” Clark said. “If you have not received your vaccine yet, please do so. It’s not too late.”
Beaufort Memorial Hospital has implemented similar visitor restrictions and was treating 44 COVID-19 patients as of Tuesday. Roughly 93% of those people were unvaccinated, according to hospital data.
Only about 45.4% of Beaufort County’s population has been fully vaccinated, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
What about drive-thru testing?
Hilton Head and Coastal Carolina hospitals have no plans to resume free, drive-thru testing events, Clark said Wednesday.
That’s because DHEC has a free testing site at Tanger Outlets 2 in Bluffton, Clark said.
The Bluffton clinic is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is run by TourHealth.
Countywide data
Here are the latest Beaufort County coronavirus data from DHEC:
New cases reported Wednesday: 183 confirmed, 15 probable
Deaths reported Wednesday: 1 confirmed, 1 probable
Seven-day average of new cases: 142 confirmed infections per day
Two-week incidence rate: 1,289 cases per 100,000 people
