South Carolina prepares to expand hospital capacity with coronavirus surge on the way
South Carolina leaders announced Monday the state’s plan for preparing hospitals to face a surge in cases of the coronavirus.
The surge plan is based on projections of 3,500 coronavirus patients being hospitalized in early May, according to Maj. Gen. Van McCarty, the state’s adjutant general. As of Monday, 5,944 hospital beds were available, though that number could change daily, McCarty said.
“What our plan will allow us to do is to add 3,000 beds,” he said, bringing statewide available beds to about 9,000.
The first phase of the surge plan calls for adding 1,500 beds by April 28. The second phase will add another 1,500 beds by May 5, he said.
Health care facilities and other large venues throughout the state that meet certain requirements are split into three “tiers,” according to the plan, with each one used for a different purpose in the fight against COVID-19.
Tier 3 facilities are traditional hospitals that provide critical care services and ventilator management, and will care for seriously ill COVID-19 patients and other patients with different injuries and illnesses. The expansion of beds will occur at tier 1 and tier 2 facilities within five miles of the main hospitals, according to Prisma Health’s Dr. Eric Ossmann and McCarty.
“We will use them to provide treatment within their scope,” Ossmann said.
Tier 2 facilities will offer care that is not “as intense” as the care at major hospitals, and tier 1 facilities will be used for quarantine and isolation of COVID-19 patients. Tier 1 facilities will be for patients with minor symptoms who are “able to provide self-care.”
Should patients in Tier 1 or 2 facilities become worse, they will be transferred to a Tier 3 hospital for evaluation and care, Ossmann said.
The state can also open two recently shuttered hospitals in Fairfield and Marlboro counties, turn arenas into makeshift hospitals and put up “tent hospitals” if needed.
Patrick Cawley, from the Medical University of South Carolina, said all hospitals in the state have been surveyed and expressed support for the surge plan. Cawley said the COVID-19 surge plan is similar to typical emergency surge plans, if a bit “deeper.”
“We know this is gonna be tough. This is not gonna be easy,” he said.
Other ways to add hospital beds include: a hospital with 800 patients will be ready to accommodate another 150 beds and a fitness center one block from MUSC in Charleston will be transformed into a tier 2 facility with 250 beds, if needed, according to Cawley. Nurses, doctors, residents and fellows will all be brought in to care for patients.
The National Guard or other contractors could be brought in if hospital staffs are insufficient to care for patients in surge facilities, McCarty said.
“The surge is likely to last awhile. It won’t go away right away,” Cawley said.
The S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation has also waived many state license requirements for doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and physician’s assistants, director Emily H. Farr said. Providers from other states have also been allowed to treat, write prescriptions and complete examinations for South Carolinians via telemedicine thanks to relaxed regulations, she said. Telemedicine was also expanded to other forms of medicine.
In the past week, the number of cases reported per day have more than doubled, going from an average of 90 new cases per day to 187 per day. As of April 6, South Carolina had 2,232 total confirmed COVID-19 cases, and hospital beds were at 51% capacity, according to state epidemiologist Linda Bell.
Recent data from the Harvard Global Health Initiative highlighted how ill-equipped many of the nation’s hospitals were for a surge of COVID-19 cases. The data — which did not include intensive care unit beds — predicts the number of hospital beds needed if 20%, or about 1 million, South Carolinians were infected. The shortage would become even more dire if the percentage of infected people increased to 40 or 60% of the population.
The infection rates Harvard researchers used far surpass projections DHEC released, which predict a cumulative 8,000 coronavirus patients by early May.
South Carolina is expected to have more than 2,600 cases by the end of the week, according to DHEC projections. Cases are predicted to peak in May.
In mid-March, McMaster announced that South Carolina would expedite the process for health care workers from other states to get temporary licenses in order to assist with the COVID-19 effort.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhat you should know about the coronavirus
The coronavirus is spreading in the United States. Officials are urging people to take precautions to avoid getting sick, and to avoid spreading the disease if they do contract it.
Click the drop-down icon on this card for more on the virus and what you should do to keep yourself and those around you healthy.
What is coronavirus?
Coronavirus is an infection of the respiratory system similar to the flu. Coronaviruses are a class of viruses that regularly cause illnesses among adults and children, but this outbreak has spawned a new disease called COVID-19, a particularly harsh respiratory condition that can lead to death.
Health officials believe COVID-19 spread from animals to humans somewhere in China. It spreads among humans by physical person-to-person contact, including via coughs. That’s why health officials urge sick individuals to avoid contact with other people.
For more information, visit the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms are similar to the flu and include fever, coughing and shortness of breath.
How can I stop the spread of the coronavirus?
Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, and cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.
If you develop symptoms similar to the coronavirus, you should seek medical attention. Stay home from work or school and avoid contact with others. It can take up to 14 days after coming into contact with the virus to develop symptoms.
COVID-19 is a new condition and there’s much about the disease we still don’t understand. For now, taking precautions is the best way to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this story misspelled the surname of the Prisma Health doctor. He is Dr. Eric Ossmann. (Updated: 11:09 a.m. 04/07/20)
This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 5:03 PM.