Sta­tus Update

December 5, 2022 - December 12, 2022

For the first full week of December, volumes, in general, eased as the week progressed both with the inpatient census and our Emergency Department. The number of COVID patients is still in the single digits with Flu and Respiratory illnesses elevated. There remains a number of patients with extended lengths of stay in the hospital.

December 20, 2022 - December 26, 2022

The hospital remained in high census throughout most of the week and holiday weekend. We saw a high volume of patients presenting to our Emergency Department for respiratory illnesses including COVID, Flu, & RSV. The COVID-19 census is increasing with a daily census of around 10-13. Our inpatient flu volume is declining but remains higher than what we have experienced in past years. We continued to experience difficulty transferring patients to the next level of care. This means that people are waiting in inpatient beds that could be used for newly admitted patients. A lack of transport services in the community, facilities, and hospitals at capacity and challenges with community resources are just a few issues contributing to this issue. We continue to encourage our community to seek the advice of a primary care provider for less acute needs as an alternative to presenting to the Emergency Department.

October 31, 2022 - November 6, 2022

The hospital remained in high census throughout most of the week. We saw a high volume of patients presenting to our Emergency Department for Flu and other respiratory illnesses. The COVID-19 census remains around 6-7 daily. Our inpatient flu volume is higher than what we have experienced in past years. We continued to experience difficulty transferring patients to the next level of care. This means that people are waiting in inpatient beds that could be used for newly admitted patients. A lack of transport services in the community, facilities, and hospitals at capacity, and challenges with community resources are just a few issues contributing to this issue. We continue to encourage our community to seek the advice of a primary care provider for less acute needs as an alternative to presenting to the Emergency Department.

November 7, 2022 - November 13, 2022

The inpatient census remained high throughout the week. Our flu inpatient volumes surpassed our COVID inpatient volumes with an average of 6 flu patients per day compared to an average of 4 COVID patients per day. There were over 60 positive flu tests through the Emergency Department during the week. Emergency Department volumes remained high with an average of 150 visits per day and we continued to see a high volume of patients coming to the Emergency Department with flu-like symptoms. We encourage our community to use testing centers and your primary care physician for non-emergent flu-related concerns. Given the high inpatient and Emergency Department volumes and difficulties procuring community resources to help with the timely transition of care, we are experiencing slightly higher wait times as patients move through the system.

November 14, 2022 - November 21, 2022

Onslow Memorial Hospital experienced an increased number of IVC persons holding in the Emergency Department throughout the week. This was coupled with an increased amount of discharged Emergency Department patients who for a variety of reasons are unable to depart the hospital. This resulted in a decreased availability of beds as well as increased wait times. Hospital leadership continues to bring these issues to local and state stakeholders in hopes that we can work together to fill a significant void of resources. As the number of respiratory related illnesses increase in our community, hospital resources, not least of which is staffing, are strained. We continue to ask our community to only present to the Emergency Department for true emergencies and to remind our community that the ED is not a testing site. Use your primary care physician, telehealth resources, or insurance case manager when at all possible to advise on testing sites and next steps for healthcare. The ICU census remained high with not much room for additional patient capacity.

September 5, 2022 - September 11, 2022

This past week has seen fewer COVID-positive cases. The average daily census widely fluctuated with the holiday but remained lower than budgeted. The Emergency Dept. remained busy with many of the admissions to the hospital coming in through the ED. Staffing levels remain consistent with volumes and need, although many of the positions are staffed with travelers due to a nationwide shortage of available nursing staff. This shortage has resulted in existing vacancies continuing longer than optimal. However, our staff is stepping up to fill holes in the schedule, augmented with traveler utilization mentioned earlier. Onslow Memorial Hospital staff, physicians, providers, leaders, and Board Members appreciate the honor and privilege of caring for our community.

September 18, 2022 - September 25, 2022

The following is a high-level representation of the current state of the Hospital for the week ending September 25th. We averaged approximately 3 COVID-positive inpatients per day. COVID-related absences continue to impact overall staffing. The hospital census was slightly higher than normal. Emergency Department volumes are increased from recent months, but were slightly down this week in comparison to the week prior. With the implementation of new processes and the onboarding of new physicians, wait times to be seen by a provider and the overall time spent in the department are both significantly down. There was slight relief in discharge-related challenges during the week, but we continue to track these issues to share with community partners. The new Linac was installed in Onslow Radiation Oncology and should be ready for patient care in approximately two weeks.

September 26, 2022 - October 2, 2022

The following is a high-level representation of the current state of the Hospital for the week ending October 2nd. We averaged approximately 6-7 COVID-positive inpatients per day. COVID-related absences continue to impact overall staffing. The hospital census was slightly higher than normal for this time of year. Emergency Department volumes are increased from recent months, but were slightly down this week in comparison to the week prior. With the implementation of new processes and the onboarding of new physicians, wait times to be seen by a provider and the overall time spent in the department are both significantly down. There was slight relief in discharge-related challenges during the week, but we continue to track these issues to share with community partners.

August 15, 2022 - August 21, 2022

The following is a high-level representation of the current state of the Hospital for the week ending August 21^st. We have seen a steady uptick of COVID-positive patients. (See daily COVID stats.) This uptick is concurrent with what is being seen across the state of North Carolina. Onslow Memorial Hospital is also seeing an increase in the number of patients being seen in the Emergency Department. With the increase in Emergency Department visits and admissions, we are noticing delays in throughput for non-emergent visits causing longer waiting times. The hospital census is running higher than normal. A number of discharge-related challenges remain a significant barrier to throughput. These challenges include but are not limited to the availability of tertiary hospital beds, availability of skilled facility beds, limited transportation resources, and limited community resources for patients who need additional help to transition out of the hospital.

August 22, 2022 - August 28, 2022

The hospital averaged 14 COVID patients per day during the past week. There were more COVID-positive patients coming through the Emergency Department than earlier in the month. We continued to experience a higher census throughout most of the week but did see a decline over the weekend. The ICU volumes, while not all COVID-related, were high throughout most of the week. We continue to house a significant number of patients who no longer need acute medical care, but who, for many reasons, are unable to leave the hospital. There have been continued challenges with transferring patients to skilled nursing facilities, with transportation delays, and with families refusing to take their loved ones home. This wreaks havoc on hospital resources and negatively impacts Emergency Department hold times for admitted patients and Emergency Department wait times. Our Emergency Department was at 75% capacity for most of the week. You should only come to the Emergency Room for emergent needs.

August 29, 2022 - September 4, 2022

Heading into the Labor Day holiday, volumes in general eased as the week progressed. The number of COVID patients started the week at 12 and ended in single digits at 7. We experienced a moderate census throughout most of the week but did see a decline over the weekend. There continues to be a significant number of patients who no longer need acute medical care, but who, for many reasons, are unable to leave the hospital. There have been continued challenges with transferring patients to skilled nursing facilities, with transportation delays, and with families refusing to take their loved ones home.