{"id":12998,"date":"2020-04-06T09:03:43","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T13:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hancockregionalhospital.org\/?p=12998"},"modified":"2026-01-16T12:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T17:41:11","slug":"coronavirus-update-april-6-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/ja\/2020\/04\/coronavirus-update-april-6-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus Update: April 6, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
It would appear that our awaited surge may have begun over the weekend as we experienced an uptick in inpatient admissions for symptomatic patients (PUI) awaiting results of their COVID-19 tests.\u00a0 Because these patients tend to require a longer length of stay, especially in the critical care environment, I am thankful we have made room for them through our efforts to reduce other clinical services and increase critical care capacity.\u00a0 We currently have several patients in the PUI status (two requiring ventilation) and a couple of COVID-19 positive patients, with just one requiring ventilator support.<\/p>\n

As I write this note, I find myself searching for a different word than \u201cCOVID Patient\u201d.\u00a0 It seems impersonal and cold.\u00a0 It is as if we are talking about a disease that has a person, rather than a person who happens to have the disease.\u00a0 Perhaps I feel so strongly about this because I made a call just a few hours ago to a member of our Hancock family who lost their spouse to this disease over the weekend.\u00a0 Though our conversation was brief, I could sense the anguish on the other end of the line and my tears flowed freely when our call ended.<\/p>\n

I HATE this disease.\u00a0 I hate what it does to people and I hate what it has done to our country.\u00a0 We are engaged in a war against this disease and Hancock Health is just one front of the battle.\u00a0 Though I am prior-military,\u00a0 I have been reluctant to use the verbiage of warfare to describe this disease.\u00a0 But, as things progress, I increasingly recognize that our experience has all the markings of it.\u00a0 The long hours of anxious waiting, the moments of terror, the individuals engaged in the firefights, the casualty count.\u00a0 Let\u2019s call it what it is and know that we will win the battle in Hancock County and the war will be won the world over, one human being at a time\u2026<\/p>\n