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COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The Adjutant General for South Carolina announced the South Carolina National Guard’s support to the state’s healthcare system for COVID-19 response efforts, April 6, 2020, during a press conference in Columbia, South Carolina.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. R. Van McCarty explained, following the executive order issued by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster March 17, 2020, the South Carolina National Guard has been working with state and federal agencies as a task force to determine the impacts the virus could have on the state’s healthcare system and developing a plan to respond to the potential needs.
The support plan increases available hospital beds throughout the state, without increasing the current level of care that hospitals provide for their patients. It is an adjustable plan that can be scaled based on the projected and actual needs of the healthcare facilities in South Carolina.
“As of today, we have 5,944 hospital beds available in South Carolina,” said McCarty. “What our plan allows us to do is to add an additional 3,000 beds to bring us to approximately 9,000 beds, no later than May 5th this year.”
The response plan would be able to incorporate an additional 1,500 beds for the state by April 28, with the other 1,500 beds in place by May 5, if needed. These would be in addition to the beds currently available inside hospitals.
McCarty explained, this is done through identification of alternate care facilities throughout the state. These facilities include both commercial and state property, such as former medical facilities, arenas and gymnasiums, dormitories and hotels, and tents, that can be transformed into locations where healthcare workers can provide care for non-critical patients, without taking away from space inside the hospitals. The owners of the properties have either come forward and volunteered the facilities, or the site is owned by the state, and an engineer assessment is conducted to determine if it meets the qualifications to be considered as an alternate care facility. The state task force is using engineers from the Department of Transportation, South Carolina National Guard, and South Carolina State Guard to vet the locations against certain criteria from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which includes having adequate restrooms and showers, a fire suppression system, being free from lead, mold, and asbestos, and having emergency backup power. Some of these criteria can be contracted for the site to meet the vetting standard, he added.
The alternate care facilities are designed to expand the capacity of the hospitals by providing an alternate location for non-critical patients. Dr. Eric Ossmann, Vice Chair of Operations and Clinical Affairs in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Prisma Health, explained the plan provides three tiers to classify patients based on the care required. Patients determined to be tier 3 are considered the most critical and would receive care within a hospital. Tier 2 patients are categorized as non-critical, but still require care, and would be assigned to an alternate care facility. Tier 1 patients are those who can conduct self-care, but require a place to isolate themselves as to not expose others to the virus. All three tiers will have adequate medical care provided, just with a lighter medical footprint. The tiering allows the state to increase capacity to meet the needs of the citizens, Ossmann added.
“Over the last three weeks, we’ve been working with the South Carolina National Guard, with the Emergency Management Division, with the South Carolina Hospital Association and all our other clinical partners throughout the state to come up with a workable system that is going to give us the bed capacity that we could potentially need,” said Ossmann.
McCarty added, this plan is meant to be a contingency to support the current healthcare system, if the need is determined for more beds to support the potential COVID-19 cases in the state. Hospitals are also looking to expand their capacity within their current facility.
“All the facilities across the state have been actively working to enhance their ability to expand within their current footprint,” said McCarty. “We have this plan in place if the need develops. It’s a plan built around the current hospital system we have in the state.”
The partners that have been a part of the task force developing the state’s tiered response plan include South Carolina Emergency Management Division, Army Corps of Engineers, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, South Carolina National Guard, South Carolina Hospital and Medical Association, South Carolina Office of Rural Health, South Carolina Labor Licensing and Regulation, South Carolina Department of Transportation, South Carolina Department of Parks Recreation and Tourism, South Carolina Department of Administration, and regional healthcare providers in the state.
| Date Taken: | 04.07.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 04.07.2020 19:35 |
| Story ID: | 366817 |
| Location: | COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 244 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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