COLUMBIA, S.C. — Official with Prisma Health announced a partnership with South Carolina's Emergency Management Division (SCEMD), SC National Guard, SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) and the SC Hospital Association to create regional COVID-19 patient recovery units in the Upstate and Midlands.
The recovery units would allow local hospitals to alleviate internal capacity by transferring patients to one of the regional recovery units.
Current recovery sites include:
- Prisma Health Laurens County Hospital in Clinton is a 29-bed unit that occupies the third floor of the hospital. Currently in operation
- Prisma Health Tuomey Hospital in Sumter will open as a 12-bed unit that could expand to 24 beds as necessary and as staffing becomes available
- Prisma Health Baptist Hospital in Columbia is planned as a 12-bed unit that could open as soon as next week (Feb. 1) and expand to 36 beds as necessary and as staffing becomes available
- a fourth unit is being planned for the Upstate, as necessary.
According to Prisma Health officials, shifting patients to dedicated regional recovery units will help healthcare systems fully utilize their local hospital intensive care unit (ICU) beds and staffing for patients in need of higher acuity care – whether due to COVID-19 or other medical needs. The regional recovery units will care for lower acuity COVID-19 patients who are not yet ready for discharge and still need an inpatient level of care to support their full recovery.
Patients will be cared for by a combination of staff -- including approximately 125 nurses, respiratory therapists, clinicians and support personnel from Prisma Health staff and 20 National Guardsmen.
Those involved see these regional mobile units as a model may be deployed elsewhere in the state as needed, with S.C. Hospital Association leaders seeing it as a possible prototype that could be used nationwide.
SCEMD Director Kim Stenson said, “Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, SCEMD has worked with each of the state’s hospitals to develop medical surge plans in case they are needed. We’re now seeing those plans being put into action as more and more people need medical care. It’s been a challenge to fulfill certain requests for resources due to extreme demand for extra medical staff nationwide, but we’re confident we’ll be able to find the support our hospitals need to care for people.”
For the South Carolina National Guard, the Regional Recovery Units are a way to serve their communities. “The South Carolina National Guard is honored to support our healthcare providers in the state who are on the front lines of fighting COVID-19," said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Van McCarty, the adjutant general for South Carolina. "Whether it's administering the vaccine, providing patient support, or testing our citizens for COVID, our Soldiers are proud to serve our state and local communities during this pandemic. They truly believe they are making a difference and saving lives."
