During last week’s Trigg County Hospital Board meeting, CEO John Sumner relayed some startling — yet seemingly positive — outlook numbers regarding COVID-19 testing and vaccination within the hospital and the county.
From August 1 through lunchtime on August 26, 864 patients had been tested for COVID-19, in what amounts to roughly 33 tests per day in the span.
During the same span, vaccination averages have roughly tripled weekly — from about 15 administered shots per Wednesday to 50 shots per Wednesday — in what seems to be some steam gaining in personal care and protection within Trigg County.
According to the Center for Disease Control and as of August 29, more than 5,500 Trigg Countians were fully vaccinated, or almost 39% of the county. It’s not the 50 percent, or even 40 percent, benchmarks that have been called for by national advisors or the office of Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, but it’s considerable improvement.
Since August 1, more than 250 have become fully vaccinated county-wide — a near 3 percent rise.
Just as Beshear announced on Thursday, those wishing to get tested for COVID-19 need not clog up local emergency rooms — which are already inundated with COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 related incidents.
It’s worth noting that Trigg County Hospital has had some recent difficulty transferring COVID-19 patients due to limited space — similar to what Caldwell County Hospital was reportedly experiencing leading in to late last week.
One critical development for Trigg County Hospital is that bids are about to go out for what will eventually be six more private rooms in a rear wing of the facility. Sumner said that 95 percent of the tearout is complete, and that once those bids are serviced by the PADD office, construction can begin — possibly completed by this Christmas or even earlier.
Sumner said it’s the kind of upgrade that could help them further treat issues like COVID-19, as well as other critical care situations.
In other business, the Trigg County Hospital Board — which met via Zoom — opted to accepted the lowest bid for one new 2022 ambulance, for an approximate price of $131,000, and a lengthy executive session to discuss insurance-related items didn’t lead into any action being taken during the open meeting.
