Phoebe in need of critical care staff

(ALBANY, GA) – After an increase in COVID-19 case numbers across Southwest Georgia, the phoebe health system is noticing a problem within their Dougherty County campuses.

Phoebe CEO, Joe Austin says it’s the lack of critical care staff at the facilities.

“What we’re finding is that we’re running very very tight on our staff. We have enough nurses to work with the number of patients we have right now. But we’re going to be very hard pressed if we exceed that…” says Austin.

Austin says that while they were struggling with the third highest COVID infection rate per-capita in the world, nurses from all over were flown in.

With cases rising in states like Texas, Arizona, and Florida, those critical care workers are elsewhere, stretching the staff in Albany.

Austin tells us, “It’s just we cannot get access as we did back in March and April, we just cannot access that nursing contract labor pool as regularly as we could because there’s such demand right now.”

As the health system continues to search for more critical care contracts, they’re making another change to their visitation guidelines.

Including the re-introduction of some measures they’d previously lifted.

“About two weeks ago, we actually stopped taking temperatures of visitors and staff at the door. Based on the cdc guidelines that just came out in the last week or so, we’re modifying that beginning next Wednesday (July 22nd),” says Austin.

With medical experts across the area continuing to monitor which way COVID-19 will trend, they’re hoping to get some extra help should the worst happen.

As always the Phoebe Health System wants to remind people to always wear a mask and wash your hands.