COVID variant patients overflow hospital occupancy

DAYTON-Kyle Terry, M.D. was asked by Columbia County Health System Shane McGuire about the status of COVID in the community, in particular the Delta variant, during the July 28 board meeting. Dr. Terry reported that Columbia County Health Officer. Lewis Neace, D.O. told him that he is requesting the recent positive COVID cases to be also tested for the variant. McGuire added that though the variant is not as deadly, more people needing to be put in the hospital particularly in the unvaccinated saying that 97% of COVID hospitalizations are unvaccinated.

The CCHS is having difficulty finding places for patients to be transferred to because there are no beds available. He addressed the challenge of getting people in the community vaccinated with numbers just under 40% fully vaccinated.

"We are challenged to engage unvaccinated community members and we receive considerable push back when we offer or post pro vaccination messages," Terry said. "We are going to offer vaccination to every emergency department patient, and we will break a multi-dose vial for a single dose, even if that means wasting the balance. The State's position is that this is now okay to do since vaccine supply has caught up with demand. We will have a vaccine booth at the National Night Out, be offering it in the schools, and the clinic as well."

McGuire advised the Board of Directors at the meeting July 28 the Columbia County Fire Department, the Dietary Environmental Services and Facilities departments of the hospital served 275 full meals to the Green Ridge firefighters.

"We got a call on Monday night from the local fire teams," said McGuire. "They were getting ready to mobilize their base, and that means tearing down their kitchens and they were in a situation where they were going to have to skip a meal for those guys. If you know anything about what they're doing out there, there's a lot of calorie loss."

The hospital was only given a day's notice, he said, but with the help of coordination with the Columbia County Fire Department, the Dietary, Environmental Services and Facilities departments of the hospital were able to serve 275 full meals.

McGuire also reported the Dental Clinic saw its first 16 patients as of the last week of July. Work on the Assisted Living Project site was suspended due to a State Environmental Policy Act requirement to restore some of the habitat that was removed when clearing ground. Work is now resuming with construction expected in the fall. The Acute Care project for the headwall of the patient rooms is currently being completed with the installation of medical gas, medical air and suction.

Community Health Work for CCHS, Paul Ihle presented to the Board his progress on addressing the child-care need in Dayton and for CCHS employee recruitment and retention effort. Ihle was initially part of a committee which gained regional interest and partnership including the participation in a study on the issue. Ihle's time invested has been partly paid for by the Department of Commerce that funded the study. He is still seeking funds and looking for a child care location.

The YWCA in Walla Walla is partnering with CCHS in this effort and the hope is to open the service in the coming year for care of infants through children 12 years old. One facility being considered is the former First Christian Church just across the street from the elementary school that recently moved to Second Street because of repairs needed that were not feasible for them to do. Whether the property meets the requirements for the child care center space will be known this month.

The other viable option is through the Port of Columbia on a half-acre section of the property adjacent to Blue Mountain Station that could be rented for a reduced rate. The anticipated cost for a facility would be about $500,000. YWCA would be in charge of operations. Also addressed was the high cost of child care and making it affordable. McGuire said, "This would not be moving forward if Paul wasn't driving it."