INFORMATION LIMITED ON NUMBER OF COVID-19 HOSPITALIZATIONS IN BRENHAM
Questions remain on exactly how many COVID-19 patients are hospitalized in Brenham.
KWHI asked Baylor Scott and White for the number of COVID-19 patients currently in the Brenham hospital, what percentage that is of total hospitalizations in Brenham and in the College Station region, and how many patients are being taken from Brenham to College Station for treatment there.
KWHI also asked how many patients in Brenham’s hospital are from the area, and if the hospital is taking patients from further-away counties where their hospitals are full.
Baylor Scott and White could not provide us data for the Brenham hospital, and instead directed us to the Texas Department of State Health Services’ (DSHS) COVID-19 dashboard covering information for the entire College Station region.
In a statement, Baylor Scott and White said it does have capacity to treat patients and encourages those in need to go to the nearest hospital when they need care. It also said it does not have information to share about inbound transfers to the Brenham hospital, but in most cases, those needing in-patient care for COVID-19 are transferred from Brenham to another Baylor Scott and White facility.
When consulting the state COVID-19 dashboard, Trauma Service Area N—which is made up of Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Leon, Madison, Robertson and Washington counties—had a hospitalization rate of 27.14 percent as of Thursday.
According to DSHS, a total of 171 lab-confirmed COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in the region on Thursday, with no intensive care unit beds available. Data shows that 59 of the 630 staffed hospital beds in the region were available Thursday, but those numbers include all hospitalized patients, not just patients with COVID-19.
As of Thursday, there were only two hospital regions in the state with higher COVID-19 hospitalization rates: Trauma Service Area T—the area surrounding Laredo—with a rate of 43.59 percent, and Area M—the Waco region—with a rate of 33.5 percent.
Area N has been above the 15 percent threshold for Governor Greg Abbott’s reopening orders since December 22nd. Hospital regions with COVID-19 hospitalization rates over 15 percent for seven consecutive days, per Abbott’s orders, must reduce business capacity to 50 percent from 75 percent. In addition, establishments that receive at least 51 percent of their revenue from alcohol sales must close, and elective medical procedures must be restricted.
Full statement from Baylor Scott and White to KWHI:
Because this information is constantly changing, we refer news media to the state’s data as the best source of truth: on the Texas Department of State Health Services’ COVID-19 page, there is a link to Combined Hospital Data over Time by Trauma Service Area (TSA). It gives the breakdown you are asking for on a regional basis, and again, this is where we refer news media for this type of information. We do have capacity to treat patients, so we continue to encourage those in need to go to the nearest hospital when they’re in need of care.
We do not have information to share about inbound transfers to our hospital, but we can tell you that in most cases, those needing in-patient care for COVID-19 infections are transferred from our facility in Brenham to another Baylor Scott & White facility for a higher level of care.
Any local citizen reading about the lack of response to perfectly acceptable questions from our only hospital , must ask themselves why, and why not? The only logical answer is deception by omission. Is the state telling private corporation what to do? We citizens support this hospital and as so, we are entitled to know truths in this pandemic.
My husband was airlifted from Brenham to CS and stayed 6 mos. After he was released, he passed away and was taken to Navasota to be “pronounced”. The numbers did not change in our county.