MMMC opens 2nd COVID unit
Community spread reason for ‘steady rise’ in cases
Maui Health Systems opened an additional COVID-19 unit on Wednesday at Maui’s main hospital, which is experiencing a “steady rise of positive patients” admitted from the Emergency Department.
Pointing to community spread and Maui County’s COVID-19 positivity rate, Maui Health said it converted Maui Memorial Medical Center’s Maui East unit.
Wailuku Tower is the hospital’s ongoing unit for COVID-19-positive patients and people under investigation for COVID-19.
Maui Health spokeswoman Tracy Dallarda said Thursday that there were 13 positive COVID-19 patients at Maui Memorial as of Thursday morning, with some expected to be discharged today.
She said that nearly 200 employees and providers had been tested within the last 24 hours and that all have negative results so far. Dallarda added that regular, daily testing of employees and providers is ongoing.
During pre-op surveillance testing, an existing patient was discovered to be positive, according to a Maui Health employee and provider memo issued Wednesday. Testing on potentially exposed employees and patients showed that four more patients were positive and all health care workers were negative.
“Because these new positives are in the same area, we have decided to isolate and convert Maui East into a warm unit until further notice,” the memo said. “Testing and monitoring will continue for three days for the next two weeks to ensure consistent negative results.”
Patients are tested on admission, on day three and again on day six “to ensure COVID-19 status is known.” Also, patients are routinely tested before certain procedures.
The memo reminded staff about COVID-19 symptoms and encouraged them to refrain from working if feeling sick and to follow department procedures for sick leave.
Maui County as of Tuesday has been averaging 17 new cases daily in the past week with a test positivity rate of 2.9 percent, according to state Department of Health data released Thursday. The county dropped over the last day or so from a positivity rate over 3 percent and an average of 18 new cases daily.
For Maui County, there was one ICU bed in use by a COVID-19 patient and no ventilators being used as of Tuesday, DOH data said.
The Maui Health memo also encouraged employees to receive a vaccine.
Nearly 1,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have been administered on Maui via Maui Health to staff and providers, according to Dallarda.
On Wednesday, Maui Health’s vaccine
team traveled to Lanai to administer 95 Pfizer-BioNTech doses to community providers, first responders, essential employees and other eligible residents.
“The response was so great and even better than anticipated that we needed to fly additional vaccine doses to our team on Lanai,” Dallarda said.
Kula residents and employees at Maui Health’s Kula Hospital will be vaccinated with Moderna doses during a clinic slated for Jan. 10.
Hawaii pharmacies received an additional 3,800 doses of Moderna vaccine this week, according to the DOH. In total, the state has received 65,250 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, and about 25,000 doses had been administered, DOH said Thursday.
Ahead of the New Year’s holiday, Maui Health encouraged employees and providers in the memo to set an example of safe COVID-19 behavior.
“We implore our community, just as we do with our employees and providers, to maintain precautionary vigilance,” Dallarda said Thursday. “We are optimistic and hopeful with the advent of the COVID-19 vaccine, but we must still wear a mask, wash our hands and avoid crowds — COVID doesn’t take a holiday!”