The goal of releasing this information is to share the state of our hospital and our capacity to care for patients as COVID spreads throughout our community.
Talking points from CHWC as of 11/19/2020:
- We did not exceed our designated COVID unit of four beds before November 1, 2020
- We have admitted more COVID inpatients during the first 19 days of November than the entire pandemic
- The last couple of days we have had eight COVID inpatients
- These patients are very ill and will not be discharged soon
- We currently have limited ventilators
- We are having difficult conversations with patients and family members about prognosis and end of life decisions, including DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) orders
- The majority of area nursing homes have positive COVID patients that could be future hospital admissions
- The majority of the larger area hospitals are also experiencing issues with staffing and available beds, limiting our ability to transfer out critically ill patients
- Our Emergency Department has had an increase in volumes the past week, with the number of average positive COVID cases increasing from two to six a day
- Our staffing resources are being strained with over 25 direct patient care staff and providers out due to the recent community spread
- We are limiting the number of rehab inpatients admitted to Montpelier Hospital, so that we can utilize our staff to care for the increasing number of COVID inpatients
- If our resources (staffing, physical space, COVID tests, and supplies) continue to be strained, we will eliminate inpatient elective surgeries and look at reducing additional services.
Please help us flatten the curve by:
- Wearing masks in public settings and around people outside your household bubble
- Physical distancing
- Washing Hands
- Staying Home
We are in this together and we will do everything we can to provide comprehensive patient centered healthcare to our community. During these challenging times we are utilizing precautionary measures to safely take care of you. Please do not hesitate in seeking care.