Page 15 - Brunswick Chamber - The Anchor
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Health System
helps Isles weather COVID storm
urviving the storm of the COVID-19
pandemic required quick thinking and
adaptability, and nowhere was that
S more evident in the Golden Isles than
at Southeast Georgia Health System.
The robust and thriving healthcare network threw all
its resources at battling the disease, treating ill patients,
and ensuring its operations remained healthy, so the local
economy could as well.
In early 2020, as the nation was not yet fully aware of
the magnitude of the novel coronavirus threat, the Health
System’s leadership team and medical staff began developing
plans to care for a possible increase in patients, particularly
those experiencing a highly infectious disease and significant
respiratory stress. By February of 2020, this had become a
primary focus of the Health System’s leadership.
Elective surgeries were limited, and healthy
visitors were kept away from the hospital
to prevent spreading infections.
Preparations ramped up significantly in March with
renovations to inpatient rooms and emergency facilities to
ensure isolation capacity and that coronavirus patients could
be accommodated. Health System leadership participated in
weekly conference calls with partners to share information
and collaborate on strategies. Infection Prevention and
Quality Management teams monitored inpatient and
outpatient areas to maximize effectiveness. Those steps
were just the beginning.
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