Maximum Capacity at Local Hospital as COVID Cases Spike

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Lisa Dick, Administrator of the Brownwood/Brown County Health Department, reported at Tuesday morning’s Brownwood City Council meeting that there are “no ICU or medical beds available” at Hendrick Medical Center Brownwood due to the recent rise in COVID-19 cases.

“Something we look at for community safety is bed availability at the hospital and this morning there were 15 positive cases in our hospital,” Dick said. “Last week there was discussion with the hospital and they were working really hard to make sure we increase that capacity. The number of patients in house (with COVID-19) was 11 and they were in the same place with no ICU or medical beds available. They did some working on that and requested nursing staff from the state, and they increased (capacity) a little bit since then. But we’re not in a situation we want to be with that many cases.”

Regarding those hospitalized at Hendrick Medical Center Brownwood, Dick stated not all were Brown County residents. She also added that some Brown County residents with COVID are in larger hospitals outside the county.

“Because we live in community with a bigger hospital than some of the communities around us, we certainly do have people that are not Brown County citizens,” Dick said. “In saying that, those 15 people that are there this morning are not all the people that are hospitalized that are Brown County residents. We also know some of our residents need greater care so they’re transferred out to other facilities. We provide that service on a more local level and then we send some of our local residents to other places that are bigger.”

Dick further reported that as of Tuesday morning there were 184 active COVID-19 cases in Brown County.

“On Oct. 26 there were 78 active active cases, so that’s pretty concerning that the number has more than doubled,” Dick said.

Dick further discussed the topic of herd immunity regarding COVID-19.

“We don’t know enough about this disease yet to know what herd immunity looks like,” Dick said. “Many studies I’ve read say the immunity we’re getting from actually having the disease, we’re not really sure how long that is. Some studies say a little bit less than three months, some say four to six months, but we don’t think it’s a long term immunity to the disease so we need to be aware of that as we’re looking at how we’re moving forward and taking care of our community.”

Mayor Stephen Haynes said, “When we started this whole process the whole focus was to make sure our medical community wasn’t overwhelmed. We knew we weren’t going to stop the spread of the disease, but what we were trying to do was make sure those who needed medical attention got it and were able to receive the appropriate level of care. This is concerning and we have to pay attention to the fact that our medical community is reaching capacity and they can only expand so quickly.

“We’re certainly seeing (COVID-19) spikes, but we’re not isolated. The risk is heightened, there’s a greater risk right now in the community than there was a month ago. People need to beware of that and take the appropriate precautions that are right for them and their family.”