Al Hodge writes about healthy choices
Since my Outlook 2020 columns were written, weeks before publishing in the Rome News-tribune, the world as we know it has changed.
I referenced two factors that could change the forecast: the coronavirus and how long it might it be until the next recession. Unfortunately, those two factors have roared, complicated by the Saudi-russia oil conflicts and their impact on OPEC and the US. A perfect storm. Even with the oil volume reduction of 10-12 million gallons per day, the energy sector is not stabilized.
The human tragedy is the worst impact. There is no silver lining to the lives lost and the families’ grief. We mourn with you.
For a community of our size, Rome has unique health care assets in place to deal with the complexities of care, equipment, supplies and facilities. While difficulties persist with each of these needs, they are coping as well as some and better than most.
As this column is being prepared, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency is erecting a 20-bed temporary hospital facility at Floyd Medical Center. FMC is building additional capacity to house 100 beds with the ability to flex to an additional 194. The Georgia National Guard already has 10 personnel on site who are in patient care areas. FMC has leased the former Kindred Hospital space. Floyd is ready if and when there is a surge.
Redmond Regional Medical Center is adding capacity and equipment as well. They have erected a “Resilience” sign in their front yard and from all accounts it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. Critical care physicians have been arranged via contracts, staffing is in place and rooms have been prepared for the short term and for the potential doubling of patients.
Harbin Clinic is also adapting to new health care realities and is delivering exceptional healthcare for patients. Balancing the shelter in place policy and priorities for COVID-19 patients, the clinic has restricted nonemergency surgeries and visits. Adaptive technology has been deployed, so online and telemedicine is providing needed health care.
The health care sector comprises 14% of our community’s work force. No entity is spared from cuts, so tough decisions are being made, as fewer patients and procedures are significantly reducing revenues.
But elective procedures are being allowed again and there is encouragement from Washington about funding aid for hospitals. The sooner there is successful treatment for the coronavirus — even before the year and a half typical time for vaccine development — the better for health care and the economy.
Dr. Leonard Reeves and the third-year medical students of the Medical College of Georgia’s Northwest Georgia Clinical Campus are working with the Georgia Department of Public Health. Doctors and staffs are communicating with them so that they screen patients for determining testing needs and referring appropriate ones to drive through sites in Rome and Cartersville.
A weekly community health care call led by Harbin Chief Medical Officer Dr. Edward Mcbride is coordinating each of the large providers in Calhoun, Cartersville and Rome. These are useful updates and working calls. While the groups are usually competitors, on the calls they are with unity of purpose for diagnosis, treatment and curing COVID-19 patients.
The Plasma TX effort with Dr. Matt Mcclain’s pioneering plasma treatment is going well — also thanks to cooperation — including a fantastic response from healed COVID-19 patients who are donating plasma.
There is some bending of the COVID-19 curve that gives hope for flattening; drugs that treat rheumatoid arthritis and malaria are being tested for effective treatment. There are at least weekly reports of work on vaccines to prevent this global scourge.
Doctors, nurses and support teams are earning well-deserved praise for their courage and perseverance during this crisis. (In fact, so are teachers! Many parents are realizing how hard teaching is!)
What can we do? Follow instructions for common sense precautions and use this Time in Parentheses to exercise, eat right and keep all the changes and impact in perspective. There is still a long way to becoming a physically, mentally and all around healthy community, but the trend for better health choices is on the horizon.