Unlike many larger hospitals across the state and the country, Newman Regional Health is enjoying a low coronavirus caseload as hospital operations are back to normal.
Chief Executive Officer Bob Wright says traffic in the emergency room had dropped to about 30 to 35 percent of 2019’s numbers back in April. Those numbers aren’t totally back to 2019 levels, but they are close — and Wright says patients who had pushed off visits are starting to get those scheduled.
Outpatient volume has returned to 2019 levels, while clinics are around 90 percent of 2019 figures and may stay that way for the rest of the year.
Newman Regional Health has admitted or transferred 42 COVID-19 patients since the pandemic began in March. At one point in mid-May, there were nine COVID patients receiving care. Now there is one. Wright says there could be an increase in COVID cases again over the next two months, but he says the hospital could handle the projected influx of new cases.
Wright also says it would take three patients in isolation rooms to restart the COVID Care Unit that was open for several weeks at the start of the pandemic.
Wright’s comments come as the Newman Regional Health Pharmacy Department moved back into its recently-remodeled space to meet both federal and state regulations for medication storage, handling and compliance. The renovation also included new compounding hoods, improved work stations and work flow efficiency, increased security and storage and a new break room.
Click here for a virtual tour and additional information about the pharmacy department.
