FALL RIVER — Southcoast Health's chief clinical officer says the number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the region has yet to peak.
While it is impossible to predict, without some degree of error, exactly when COVID-19 infections in the region will crest, Dr. Dani Hackner said medical professionals anticipate cases to rise soon.
“We do expect in about a week to two weeks to see very high numbers,” he said. “We are increasing, but we're not at the steep portion of the curve that you would see in places like New York a week ago, or Boston this week.”
Approximately one week ago, the number of patients who tested positive for COVID-19 and were hospitalized across Southcoast Health’s Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford and Tobey Hospital in Wareham was 17. That number had risen to 26 as of Tuesday.
Also as of Tuesday, there were 70 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Fall River, up four cases from Monday, when the one-day increase also stood at four, according to statements released by Mayor Paul Coogan and the city’s Director of Health and Human Services Tess Curran. Only some people diagnosed with the coronavirus require hospitalization.
Pointing to a bright spot, Hackner said individual and community efforts to abide by social distancing recommendations have helped prevent a spike in infection rates so far.
“We haven’t had any accelerated spread that has occurred in some parts of the country which had not observed social distancing,” said Hackner. “In our region, we haven’t seen an unanticipated rise, and I think that reflects a lot on the responsibility of the general community.”
Southcoast Health has administered approximately 1,200 coronavirus tests to date, of which 142 were positive, according to Public Information Officer Shawn Badgley. The group has over 2,500 testing kits available for patients who meet the criteria for testing. Across all three hospitals, more than four-dozen more patients with suspected COVID-19 infections await test results.
Of the 26 confirmed coronavirus patients who were hospitalized Tuesday, approximately half required intensive care. A large majority of intensive care patients were experiencing severe respiratory distress and needed to be put on ventilators to help them breathe, according to Hackner.
“We are seeing a very ill group coming to the ICUs,” he said. “In our ICUs we currently have 13 confirmed cases, and of those confirmed cases, about 85% are on ventilators.”
The federal government recently sent the state 100 ventilators from the Strategic National Stockpile, far short of the 1,000 ventilators Gov. Charlie Baker said federal authorities initially approved, and which the state’s congressional delegation called “grossly insufficient” in a letter sent to the Federal Emergency Management Agency Monday.
While Southcoast Health does not publicly disclose the number of ventilators it has on hand, Hackner said the system does not currently need additional ventilators and remains in contact with government officials should the need arise.
“We have sufficient ventilators to more than double our ICU capacity. So we do have sufficient ventilators at this time, but it’s impossible to predict what that peak will bring,” Hackner said.
About 10% of the group's intensive care beds are occupied by patients who tested positive for the coronavirus or are awaiting test results, Badgley said. A new multimillion-dollar intensive care unit is set to open at St. Luke’s Hospital “in the coming weeks,” adding additional ICU beds.
“We’re evaluating other plans for additional capacity to meet potential demand should a surge occur this month as expected,” said Badgley in an email.
Steward Health, which runs Fall River's Saint Anne’s Hospital, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Though the list of distressing developments spurred by the pandemic is long, Hackner said his resolve is steeled by watching medical professionals and the community meet the moment with generosity and compassion.
“It’s humbling to see the health care workers day in and day out caring for patients, but it’s equally heartwarming to see the community really come together. Everyone is scared, for sure, but there’s a real tenacity and great deal of good will in the community,” Hackner said. “So that’s what keeps us going.”