Calaveras Public Health and Mark Twain Medical Center Encourage Vaccination as Hospital Nears Capacity
Officials from Calaveras Public Health and Mark Twain Medical Center reported a significant increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations this week. They state by Thursday, August 26, Mark Twain Medical Center neared capacity. The hospital typically operates with an average daily census of 9 patients. As of Thursday, there were a total of 17 inpatients, 6 of those patients are hospitalized due to COVID-19. An ongoing staffing shortage threatens to worsen the situation if numbers continue to grow. Tuolumne Public Health and Adventist Health made a similar statement published here Tuesday morning, August 24.
The joint Calaveras statement says, “Staff are working hard to keep up with the current surge as administration searches for additional help. Mark Twain Medical Center’s President and CEO, Doug Archer, has requested additional resources and traveling medical professionals with little success. “Many hospitals are experiencing similar situations when trying to bring in relief staff. We’re all going to the same well but the well is quickly drying up,” said Doug Archer. “Our hardworking hospital staff are wiped out after almost two years of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic,” added Archer.
Members of the public are still encouraged to seek healthcare at Dignity Health clinics for non-emergent medical care. Mark Twain Medical Center requests that patients who need to go to the hospital, limit their visit to a single caregiver to avoid overcrowding. The hospital will continue to triage patients while operating near capacity.
The county’s low vaccination rate may be a contributing factor to the rise of COVID-19 hospitalizations. The current vaccination rate in Calaveras County among fully vaccinated eligible individuals falls below 50 percent (47.92%) compared to the rest of the State of California (65.8%). An approach to reducing COVID-19 hospitalizations is centered around vaccination and other approaches such as masking and physical distancing. People can schedule a free COVID-19 vaccine appointment by visiting myturn.ca.gov
Calaveras has not updated their COVID-19 report today, yesterday there were 75 active cases in including six Covid hospitalizations.
