Grady Memorial Hospital's chief medical officer says they are 'over capacity'

ATLANTA - Hospitals are struggling to keep up with the number of COVID-19 patients. Many metro Atlanta hospitals have joined together asking you not to show up to the emergency room for a COVID-19 test.

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The chief medical officer at Grady Memorial Hospital said they are running out of room. Many hospitals are bursting at the seams with patients but they are dedicated to treating everyone during the omicron surge.

"We continue to do what we have to do which is to take care of patients but it’s really like being under a siege," Robert Jansen

It is a surge that saw more than 24,000 new COVID-19 cases identified through both PCR and antigen tests on Thursday, shattering the record set just a day prior, according to data provided by the Georgia Department of Public Health.

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The staff, like many other hospitals across the country, have been at war against the COVID-19 virus almost nonstop for nearly two years. 

"The rate of increase of cases with COVID is more rapid than we’ve ever seen. We’ve had an 800% increase in cases since the beginning of December," said Jansen.

More and more patients are showing up with the omicron variant as it continues its vicious and vast spread.

"We are over capacity. We are 100% full and we are having to hold patients in the emergency room because of the surge," Jansen said.

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Hospitalizations are also up 52% over last week and 67% from a month ago, the GDPH data shows. This is the sixth day in a row current hospitalizations have grown by triple digits.

He said this doesn’t even count a possible post-Christmas surge and he shudders to think what New Year’s Eve gatherings could bring.

Earlier this week, Grady Health Care updated its visitor policy. Patients diagnosed with COVID-19, or suspected to have COVID-19, cannot have visitors except in end-of-life situations. Visitors must wear a face covering at all times and are not permitted in hallways on the patient floors without directions from the patient care team. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit patients may have two visitors, who must be the same throughout the newborn's stay, with one visitor at a time at the bedside. There are exceptions for the firs 24 of admission and for breastfeeding. 

"It’s rare we see someone that s vaccinated and have their booster that requires submission," Jansen said.

He said 70 percent of those who have to be admitted are unvaccinated. The other thirty either haven’t had their booster shot or have underlying health conditions.

"I don’t want anyone to think vaccines don’t work. They are very effective for preventing illness even if you do get infected," Jansen said.

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He said the best thing to do is what we already know: Wash hands, wear a mask, practice social distancing, and get fully vaccinated.

New vaccinations administered have seen a less than 2% growth in the last week and fully vaccinated individuals have had less than 1% growth. In the last month, there has only been a 3.6% growth in the number of those fully vaccinated. Georgia remains the 6th lowest state for fully vaccinated individuals with just over 54% of those eligible having been fully vaccinated. 

To find a COVID-19 vaccination location, visit dph.georgia.gov/covid-vaccine.

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"We might not be able to conquer this, ‘make it go away’ but we can learn to work around it and live with it. Right now, it has the feeling that it’s controlling us and I don’t want us to live like that," said Jansen.

Hospitals across metro Atlanta are asking Georgians not to show up to emergency rooms if they are simply looking for a test, only if they are experiencing severe symptoms.

To find the locations and times as well as to schedule an appointment for a routine COVID-19 test, visit the Georgia Department of Public Health) website at dph.georgia.gov/covidtesting.

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