Quantcast
skip to Main Content

(March 30, 2020 2:08 PM) As Detroit and parts of southeast Michigan continue to experience a surge of COVID-19 patients seeking treatment in their facilities, the state is asking other Michigan hospitals to help by offering up to 10 percent of their hospital beds for transfer of patients from that part of the state. 

“Many of our hospitals particularly in southeast Michigan are at or near capacity. Intensive care units are full and emergency departments are overloaded,” Michigan’s chief medical executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said during a news conference Thursday morning. “The only way we’re going to be able to effectively handle this outbreak is by coming together and coordinating our health care resources as a state.”

Henry Ford Allegiance Health is doing their part to ease the state’s burden, while working to ensure adequate access for patients living in Jackson and surrounding communities.

The hospital released a statement yesterday afternoon to hospital employees and members of Governance, which explained the decision and provided reassurance the hospital is still able to accommodate the local need for treating an increased number of COVID-19 patients. The statement reads as follows:

To maximize the efficacy of our ongoing response to the outbreak of COVID-19, Henry Ford Allegiance Health is continually planning and evolving its response for all anticipated, potential scenarios. We have recently accepted five patients from other communities, similar to the practice of other surrounding hospitals, during this time of overwhelming need.

The health care providers at Henry Ford Allegiance Health are well trained in infection prevention practices, are using recommended personal protective equipment, and all proper precautions are being strictly followed. Visitor restrictions also remain in place, and we are encouraging everyone to stay home and practice safe social distancing.

As we move forward, we will continue to carefully make all patient care decisions with the safety of our local community and team members top of mind.

“This decision was not made lightly, as we considered the potential need for available hospital beds for residents of our Central Market,” said Tim Levy, Board Chair at Henry Ford Allegiance Health. “Detroit is now considered a “hot zone” for COVID-19, and those of us across the state with some bed capacity must do our part to lighten their load.” 

As of 11 a.m. on Monday, March 30, Henry Ford Allegiance Health was treating 16 inpatients in their hospital who tested positive for COVID-19. Test results are pending on another 19 patients who are being treated as “persons under investigation,” and are being cared for on isolated units in the hospital to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19 to other patients.

“Even though we are seeing our numbers of COVID-19 patients increasing daily, we continue to have capacity for treating additional patients,” said Vivek Kak, MD, Medical Director for Infectious Disease at Henry Ford Allegiance Health.

As of this morning, three positive COVID-19 inpatients at Henry Ford Allegiance Health have fully recovered and were discharged to return home, free of any symptoms or concern of spreading the illness to others.

The latest county numbers are posted at 12 p.m. each day to the Jackson County Health Department website.

The hospital continues to encourage residents to practice proper infection prevention practices to help limit the spread of COVID-19.

“Social distancing and good hand hygiene are the most important strategies we have to prevent the spread of this infection,” said Courtland Keteyian, MD, MPH, Vice President of Population Health at Henry Ford Allegiance Health. “It is important that we all continue to do our part to keep ourselves, our families, and the more vulnerable members of our community safe.”

Keteyian also went on to address why it is taking longer than previously expected to see test results, adding, “The delay is a problem everywhere in the country. Labs are doing their best to get results back as soon as possible, but they are overwhelmed. Laboratories are increasing their testing capacity, but this will continue to be a problem. We are seeing some results return, although it is typical right now for it to take 7-10 days.”

As efforts to treat patients with COVID-19 are fully underway across all Henry Ford hospitals, the health system is looking for new ways to encourage their health care workers and community-based first responders. The White Ribbon Project encourages community members to display a white ribbon outside their home or place a white ribbon image in their front window to let all individuals working to keep them safe know they have the support of the community.

In addition, those community members wanting to encourage COVID-19 patients at Henry Ford Allegiance Health are encouraged to use the Well Wishes feature on the health system’s website. Later this week, the health system plans to expand this platform to allow community members to leave well wishes for hospital employees

Back To Top
Search