Donalsonville Hospital sees surge of emergency room patients

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Ga. (WCTV) - Donalsonville Hospital says it is experiencing a surge of critically ill patients in its emergency department. The hospital made the announcement Tuesday night on its Facebook page.

“Please bear with us during this difficult time and keep in mind there will be extended wait periods as we evaluate and treat the most critical patients first,” the hospital wrote.

The hospital did not say whether the surge was COVID-related; however, DPH’s website says 163 cases were confirmed in Seminole County over the past two weeks.

The county indicator report from DPH says there were 109 emergency department visits in Seminole County from August 14 to August 20. Of those visits, 17% were because of coronavirus. Data from DPH’s Southwest Region says 84.9% of emergency department beds and 93.1% of ICU beds in the region are occupied.

The southwest region accounts for 14 counties, including Seminole County.

Seminole County’s population is 35% fully vaccinated, DPH’s vaccine dashboard says.

Health officials say to contact your primary care physician for an outpatient COVID-19 test, or visit the Department of Public Health’s drive-thru testing event in Colquitt on Wednesday.

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