Here’s how Conway Medical Center is handling the spread of coronavirus
Conway Medical Center began additional screening measures amid a growing number of coronavirus cases, but won’t say whether any of its patients have died from the virus.
The hospital currently houses five patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 with another 15 who are awaiting results, according to Chief Financial Officer Brian Argo.
Argo said they’re not confirming any deaths at this point because they have a small community and have concerns for patient safety, though that stance might change in the future.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control has reported three coronavirus-related deaths in Horry County among 16 statewide as of Sunday. Tidelands Health has confirmed one of those deaths at one of their hospitals, but no other local hospitals have confirmed deaths.
Argo noted that the numbers reported by DHEC are fluid, and patients who die are being tested for COVID-19 postmortem. Time from testing to getting results is about 24-36 hours when they send samples to their lab partner, Quest Diagnostics, he added.
Argo was speaking to reporters Monday in front of medical tents, which have been set up outside the center’s emergency rooms as triage, to help separate those with coronavirus symptoms from other patients.
The tents, which opened to patients Monday, have running water and HVAC, according to Argo, who also noted that they have sufficient inventory of personal protective equipment, including N95 respirators, gloves and face masks.
The hospital has issued guidance to employees to conserve that equipment as much as possible and has gotten permission by DHEC to repurpose or clean and reuse certain equipment, he said.
Conway Medical has 20 ventilators, according to numbers submitted to DHEC as part of a statewide survey, with four in use as of last week. The other Grand Strand hospitals reported a total of 87 ventilators with at least two in use. Tidelands Health and Grand Strand Medical Center did not report how many were in use.
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We are looking for doctors, nurses and other medical professionals on the front lines of responding to this coronavirus epidemic at our local hospitals. If you’d like to speak with us about what you’re seeing, please email dweissman@thesunnews.com.
