VALDOSTA – Chief Medical Officer Brian Dawson said South Georgia Medical Center is in a much better spot with COVID-19 but the virus surge isn’t over yet. 

He gave the report this past week to the Hospital Authority of Valdosta-Lowndes County.

Hospitalizations at SGMC have decreased drastically since Aug. 27 when the hospital faced its peak of 113 patients affected by COVID-19. As of Oct. 21, patient count was down to 15, almost 100 less.

Only five of the patients were on ventilators mid-week and 1,978 people in the hospital have been vaccinated, which accounts for hospital employees and physicians.

The hospital is not mandating its employees to be vaccinated.

Dr. W. Clark Connell presented a graph visualizing the effects COVID-19 had on SGMC’s emergency room, comparing them to 2019 statistics.

The highest number of patient visits SGMC faced until the pandemic was in 2019 with little more than 6,000 visits. This year, 2021 trumped that with a height of a little more than 7,000 visits and consistently skirting the line of 6,000 visits throughout the year.

Connell said he added in the 2020 statistics, with the lowest number of patient visits at nearly 3,000, to show where SGMC was when COVID hit.

He also wanted to show the dissonance between how news presented COVID-19’s effects worldwide, namely Europe, and how the virus affected the local community.

“We were trying to ramp up, gear up and get ready, then, all of a sudden, it’s like a ghost town with tumbleweeds falling in the ER,” Connell said.

It was a challenge, he said, asking how the hospital matches its stacking ratios to patient volume ratios.

“How do you make sure you’re ready to provide a level of service that we owe our community without being financially irresponsible,” Connell said.

Dawson said he’s been obsessed with COVID-19 in a similar fashion, trying to make sure SGMC is prepared to face the pandemic at all times.

But he added he believes the hospital has reached a point where it can grow in other areas and still keep an eye on its pandemic preparedness.

Ronald Dean, the hospital’s chief executive officer, noted the hospital’s growth, while observing the third anniversary of his time at SGMC.

It’s been a hard but rewarding year, Dean said, listing SGMC accomplishments made during the pandemic; they include:

– Patient activity and operating revenues are up.

– SGMC was just reaccredited.

– Consumer reviews are the highest they have ever been.

New programs are being developed, but the big focus of the hospital is starting the graduate medical education program.

Floor “3-West” was modified with new furniture, renovated office spaces, classroom spaces, kitchen/lounge spaces and storage spaces for the sake of the program, which is expected to start July 2022.

The program has 50 slots available and initially had 800-plus applicants. SGMC staff whittled the number down to 180-200 at first – later, culling it even further to 50.

Forty-eight of the 50 accepted their offer of a slot. SGMC began its first interviews of the program’s applicants Oct. 20.

“Mr. Dean made the point a couple of years ago: This is going to change the culture of the organization as we shift over into this mode and become a teaching institution,” Dawson said.

Tim Sirmans, SGMC charge nurse, was named the October Hospital Hero. Randy Smith, hospital chief nursing officer, said Sirmans received the honor for his character and his treatment of a transferred patient from Troy, Alabama.

Sirmans and SGMC received a letter from the patient’s son expressing the awe at the care his father received.

“There were no ICU beds in the state of Alabama,” Smith read. “He had to have emergency surgery. Tim called me the minute (my father) arrived and let me know how my dad was doing and that he was going into surgery.”

The note read that Sirmans gave constant care to the patient from start to finish, keeping his son informed about everything throughout the process.

“Tim is an asset to (SGMC),” Smith read from the note. “He’s professional, polite, knowledgeable, and most important, one of the most caring people I’ve ever met.”

The hospital authority is preparing to vote on a county-represented seat on the authority, held by Ben Copeland, Sr., whose term is up Dec. 1.

Copeland, Suzanne Mathis and Bo Lovein are contenders for the authority seat.