Guadalupe Regional Medical Center | Health Currents | Fall 2020

Our last Health Currents edition was printed in early June. In that edition, we outlined GRMC’s COVID-19 preparedness plans, along with our hopes that our area of central Texas would remain relatively spared from the disease. Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed when Seguin began to experience a significant increase in positive cases by mid-June. A surge of seriously ill COVID-19-positive patients began to present to our Emergency Department (ED), many requiring admission and intensive care. In collaboration with our hospitalist physicians, decisions were made to rapidly create additional COVID-19 wards for the increasing number of critically ill patients who continued to present to the ED. 6 Keep well: Catch up on preventive care GRMEDCENTER.COM I n th i s i s sue Standard U.S. Postage PAID Walla Walla, WA Permit No. 44 FALL 2020 ADVANCED MEDICINE. PERSONAL TOUCH. HEALTH CURRENTS —Continued on page 2 Heroes behind the masks A quick response Our previously established Public Health Emergency unit was expanded from 11 private to 22 semi-private beds to accommodate the influx. In addition to our nine-bed ICU, three additional patient care areas were converted into COVID-19- only ICUs. On our peak day, there were 44 COVID-19 patients hospitalized at GRMC, representing more than half of the total inpatients. Alarmingly, at one point the positivity rate for COVID-19 tests through the ED and Urgent Care Center exceeded 40% (4 out of every 10 people being tested were found to be positive). Throughout the surge, we remained in constant communication with city and county officials, coordinating our efforts and plans. We relied on expert statewide assistance for information, supplies, equipment and additional staff through the South Texas Regional Advisory