As hospitals fill up around the state, the 7-day positivity rate decreased this week.
In Johnson County, Johnson Memorial Hospital saw the highest number of patients in recent memory, as the local positivity rate fell 2% over last week and lag time for results at the Johnson County Health Department’s COVID-19 test site increased.
The county on Wednesday reported 159 new COVID-19 cases, adding to its nearly 1,000 cases in the last week, with a 10.9% average positive test rate over seven days.
The state on Wednesday reported 6,059 new cases, with a 11.4% average positive test rate over seven days.
Statewide, 344 more Hoosiers died in the last week, including five county residents.
Gov. Eric Holcomb during his weekly news conference Wednesday said the lower positivity rate is encouraging, but not something to be excited over about — yet.
“It is way too early to say this is a trend. We have a long way to go,” Holcomb said. “I really do attribute that decline to more and more Hoosiers recognizing the strain on our health care system.”
The county’s positivity rate stands out because the exact same number of new positive cases were reported last week, but the positivity rate fell 2%.
Johnson County is among 75 counties in the “orange” this week, according to the state’s color-coded metrics, while 17 are in the “red” and one is “yellow.”
State health commissioner Dr. Kristina Box said Hoosiers should consider staying home for the holidays to slow the spread and avoid going “red.” Box fears many more counties could be in the “red” if Hoosiers do not heed the state’s warning, she said.
“There is still time today to make the hard choice to enjoy more tomorrows,” Box said during the news conference.
The state’s hospital census this week surpassed 3,300, up more than 300 since last week.
Likewise, Dr. David Dunkle, president and CEO of Johnson Memorial Health, urged county residents to keep up precautions, especially on Thanksgiving, to avoid further strain on the county hospital.
“I hope we don’t see another surge, but we are in a surge right now,” Dunkle said. “I just pray it doesn’t get much worse. Our system can’t handle it, at least in the way we are used to staffing.”
Johnson Memorial on Wednesday had 17 COVID-19-positive patients, two potentially positive patients and 36 non-COVID patients, Dunkle said.
That patient load meant non-COVID beds in the medical wing were full, and several patients were being treated in the emergency room temporarily while they wait for a bed, he said.
Of the hospital’s 23 COVID-19 isolation rooms, 17 were occupied, an all-time high, Dunkle said.
Drugs and personal protective equipment are no longer the issue, but lag time for test results and staffing are both increasing challenges. The hospital is essentially running two intensive care units with the staff for one, and the hospital is now in the throes of the care crisis that so many hospitals around the country have been seeing for months, he said.
“This is not a made up disease,” Dunkle said. “This is hitting your hometown right now and it is hitting it hard.”
The hospital is considering hiring more nurses as well as janitorial and housekeeping staff, bringing on agency nurses, and if necessary, shutting down elective surgeries, he said.
Increased wait times for test results is something both the hospital and Johnson County Health Department are struggling with right now.
For the hospital, it means doctors are left in the dark longer about a patient’s COVID-19 status, which could put others at risk, Dunkle said.
For the health department, the lengthy wait, which could now be five days or more, has likely driven some residents to other test sites, said director Betsy Swearingen said. For example, the Optum test site at the National Guard Armory in Franklin is seeing results in 72 hours, and there are several rapid test sites throughout the county where symptomatic patients can get quick results.
Testing has been up the last few weeks, but those tests are being processed by the same number of laboratories, Swearingen said.
Tests given at the health department’s Johnson County Fairgrounds test site are taken by a courier to one of the 14 laboratories. Often, the courier has to go to multiple sites to submit all the samples. Health department test sites around the state use the same 14 labs and each contribute to the backlog, she said.
Box said Wednesday the state is working on a solution for the backlog of tests, but did not elaborate on what that solution might be.
