A new federal report shows that all 17 beds at The Outer Banks Hospital were filled in the week before Christmas, and one in five North Carolina hospitals was at least 90% full.
According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, none of the patients at the hospital in Nags Head during the week of December 18-24 was being treated for COVID-19.
And Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, one of the largest facilities in eastern North Carolina, also had no COVID-19 patients this week, according to the HealthData.gov report.
Outer Banks Hospital was one of three facilities in North Carolina that were at 100% capacity last week, along with the Alamance Regional Medical Center in Burlington and the Cone Memorial in Greensboro.
Despite not reporting any patients admitted for coronavirus, 62 visits to the emergency room for COVID-19 were reported to the federal government by Outer Banks Hospital that same week.
Wendy Kelly, director of marketing at The Outer Banks Hospital, provided a statement in response to an email from OBX Today on December 22 on the notification of COVID-19 cases and availability of beds:
Outer Banks Hospital is part of Vidant Health and as a system, we continue to work in partnership with local, state and national agencies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes reporting data to the appropriate agencies as requested by state and local officials.
As a service system with nine hospitals across eastern North Carolina, including an academic medical center, Vidant is prepared, able to respond and, most importantly, adapt to this fluid and evolving crisis.
We have the capacity for beds, personnel, supplies and equipment that we need right now, and we continue to plan by accessing the collective experience and resources of our entire system. This includes building additional capacity and rationalizing resources to meet the needs of the communities we proudly serve.
With the number growing across the state and here in eastern North Carolina, it is vitally important for the community to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 by wearing a mask, washing hands, socializing and avoiding meetings.
A total of 316 COVID-19 patients were treated in hospitals operated by Vidant over the entire week, according to the DHHS report, including 96 at Vidant Duplin Hospital in Kenansville, 92 at Vidant Roanoke Chowan Hospital in Ahoskie, 80 at Vidant Hospital Beaufort in Washington and 46 at Vidant Chowan Hospital in Edenton.
The report also listed no coronavrius patients in Vidant Bertie in Windsor and Vidant Edgecombe in Tarboro.
The Sentara Albemarle Medical Center in Elizabeth City reported that a total of 194 patients were admitted with COVID-19 during the week, Martin General Hospital in Williamston 24 patients and Washington County Hospital in Plymouth 22 patients.
The same report listed Vidant Roanoke Chowan’s capacity at 98%, Vidant Beaufort 95%, Martin General 73%, Washington County 63% and Sentara Albemarle 59%.
The total number of hospitalizations in North Carolina for coronavirus set a new record for the third consecutive day on Tuesday, with 3,377.