Covid numbers rise in Seward County

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As statewide COVID-19 case numbers continue to rise, so to do numbers in Seward County.

Mallory Gibreal, director of service development at Memorial Health Care Systems in Seward, said MHCS is “definitely feeling it in the ER.”

Not everyone who comes to the emergency room is dealing with COVID-19, she said.

Gibreal said MHCS saw 146 positive cases between Jan. 7 and 14, with 124 positive tests done in Seward. She estimated about 50% of those tested are coming back positive.

“The emergence of the Omicron variant has brought about a substantial growth in numbers of positive COVID-19 cases,” Roger Reamer, chief executive officer at MHCS, said.

Gibreal said MHCS saw a record number of tests and a record number of cases per 1,000 people.

“We have an extremely high positivity rate,” she said. “It’s the highest numbers at the hospital since December 2020.”

Seward County saw case numbers triple from Christmas to now, Gibreal said.

“Overwhelmed is overused, but I don’t know what other word to use,” she said.

MHCS offers covid testing by appointment. All the tests are run through the MHCS lab, which can usually get results out within the day. Gibreal said the test numbers have increased so much that last week was the first time the lab wasn’t able to get through all the tests in a day.

“The lab techs are really busy,” she said.

“It is our goal to meet the testing needs of our communities, while also assuring the safety of our staff, patients and visitors,” Reamer said. “This is why we moved back to using the drive-through appointment approach, so we can assure everyone is safe while meeting the need of helping individuals get tested.”

With more people using hospital resources around the state, Gibreal said Seward Memorial Hospital has kept some patients who should have been transferred to another hospital in the emergency room area because there was no room open.

“We’re working differently than we ever have,” Gibreal said. “We care for our patients as best we can.”

She said MHCS, which normally transfers patients to the Lincoln and Omaha hospitals, has sent patients to western Nebraska and one out of state.

“It’s a big learning experience,” she said.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services require hospital employees to be vaccinated, which presents another challenge to MHCS and Seward Memorial Hospital, which is a critical access hospital.

“If we don’t follow their mandate, we can’t care for Medicare and Medicaid patients,” Gibreal said.

Reamer thanked everyone at MHCS who has worked to ensure community members can be tested in a timely manner.

“We are glad we can meet the needs at this time, but understand that there is only so much labor capacity and the turnaround times will be challenged if we see numbers get much higher than they are now,” he said.

He said MHCS uses a coordinated team effort between all its staff to make sure test results are delivered in a timely manner and vaccines are administered as needed.