CRMC not requiring staff to receive COVID-19 vaccine
COSHOCTON – Officials with Coshocton Regional Medical Center said the uptick in COVID-19 cases is putting an additional burden on an already strained health care system.
The medical center is not requiring employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at this time, as some other health care facilities have done in accordance with guidance from the Ohio Hospital Association. The health care vaccination requirement also has been endorsed by many medical associations and societies throughout the country.
However, the local medical center is continuing to offer the vaccine and supports it as the primary protection against the virus. Those wishing to get the vaccine, can schedule an appointment with the facility by calling 740622-0332.
“COVID-19 vaccines are effective at helping to protect against severe disease and death. To stop the spread of COVID-19, vaccination is a critical tool,” said Roxanne Potter, director of Performance Improvement and Infection Prevention at Coshocton Regional Medical Center.
Kaylee Andrews, manager of business development and marketing for the medical center, said the hospital has seen more COVID-19 cases in August than it did in July. She did not give an exact number or how many are the Delta Variant, which is the version currently sweeping through the unvaccinated population.
Andrews said positive cases are sent to an outside lab, which does genomic sequencing to determine the type and it's reported from there to the the Ohio
Department of Health and local health departments. The treatment is the same no matter the variant type, she said.
The medical center is continuing to tell people who have tested positive or believe they have COVID-19 to stay home, isolate and monitor their symptoms. One should seek medical treatment if they have shortness of breath, are severely dehydrated, have persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake and pale, gray or bluish lips, face or nailbeds.
Andrews said they are not experiencing any shortage of personal protective equipment at this time. Various safety protocols remain in affect, including wearing of facial coverings at all times, screening for symptoms of people entering the campus and patients having only one visitor at a time.
While the medical center is able to keep up with what they are seeing now, Andrews said the pandemic has put a strain on health care across the country, not just in Coshocton.
“Health care workers in general are in high demand right now with shortages occurring around the globe,” she said.
As of Friday morning, the Ohio Department of health reported 77 new COVID-19 cases in Coshocton County in the past two weeks with six hospitalizations and one death. There were 57 new cases for all of July with seven hospitalizations and no deaths. All of June only had 21 new cases with two hospitalizations and one death.
The ODH lists Coshocton County with a 34.11% vaccination rate, or 12,484 people having had at least a first dose. This is below the state vaccination rate of 50.97%. For Coshocton County, more than half of those older than 60 have received the vaccine.