MUSC Health weekly COVID-19 report (February 22)

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Feb. 22, 2022) – At MUSC Health, the safety of patients, families, care team members, students, faculty and staff remains the number one priority. The MUSC Public Affairs and Media Relations department will issue weekly COVID-19 updates on Mondays until further notice. If a holiday falls on a Monday, the report will be issued on Tuesday. 

COVID-19 STORIES FOR FOLLOW-UP

COVID Therapies in Children

New study sheds light on how doctors have been treating children with severe COVID-19.

Helping Hands

Employees and leaders from across the MUSC Charleston campus are pitching in to help their short-staffed colleagues.

COVID-19 VACCINATION AND TESTING UPDATES

MUSC Health has vaccine appointments for all eligible individuals age 5 and up. Visit muschealth.org/get-vaccine to make an appointment. The community is encouraged to monitor muschealth.org for COVID-19 vaccine availability criteria, updates and FAQs. 

For more information related to public, community vaccination sites operated by MUSC Health throughout the state, please visit /vaxlocator.dhec.sc.gov/. Homebound individuals who need in-home COVID-19 vaccination services should contact DHEC’s COVID-19 vaccine information line by calling 1-866-365-8110. All calls must be routed through the DHEC COVID-19 vaccine information line to access this program.  

MUSC Health vaccination administration data is available upon request. 

For comprehensive information about hospital and mobile locations for COVID-19 testing, visit /muschealth.org/patients-visitors/coronavirus-information/covid-19-testing.

COVID-19 TRACKING AND DATA:

'Dive-Bombing' Numbers

Now that COVID case numbers are, in one scientist’s words, “dive-bombing,” here’s a look at best- and worst-case scenarios for future.

The MUSC COVID-19 Epidemiology Intelligence Project is a digital dashboard that provides leading indicators related to the COVID-19 epidemic to enable informed decisions. 

COVID-19 INPATIENT STATS (MUSC – CHARLESTON):

Previously reported data points, such as the total COVID-19 community screening tests completed by MUSC Health- Charleston and the number of positive cases determined via those tests, the number of  telehealth screenings, total number of specimens collected at various mobile sites, or vaccinated vs. unvaccinated inpatient information are available upon request. 

• Total number of COVID patients (MUSC Health – Charleston): 112
  • MUSC Health monitors these number to determine that we have current and future capacity in terms of health care providers, supplies, ventilators and PPE. Reported numbers are consistent with the modeling and expectation that MUSC Health will have appropriate resources to manage these patients. 
  • Of the 112 COVID-related inpatients currently in the MUSC Health-Charleston location, 37 are in MUSC Health COVID-19 intensive care, with 21 of the 112 total inpatients currently receiving ventilator care for disease progression.
  • Of the 112 inpatients at the MUSC Health – Charleston location, 2 pediatric patients are in the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital. There are no pediatric patients in pediatric intensive care for COVID-19 at this time.
  • Unvaccinated vs. vaccinated adult inpatient status: Approximately 51% of current adult inpatients were unvaccinated upon admission. 

For specific information about MUSC Health Florence or Marion Medical Centers, please contact Kim Geiger at geigerki@musc.edu. 

For information about MUSC Health Chester or Lancaster Medical Centers, please contact Ashley Shannon at shannona@musc.edu. 

For information about MUSC Health Columbia Medical Centers Downtown or Northeast and MUSC Health Fairfield Emergency and Imaging, please contact Karlin Ferguson at fergukar@musc.edu.

For information about MUSC Health Kershaw Medical Center, please contact Karlin Ferguson at fergukar@musc.edu. 

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About MUSC 

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is home to the oldest medical school in the South as well as the state’s only integrated academic health sciences center, with a unique charge to serve the state through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and nearly 800 residents in six colleges: Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. MUSC brought in more than $328 million in biomedical research funds in fiscal year 2021, continuing to lead the state in obtaining this funding. For information on academic programs, visit musc.edu.

As the clinical health system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest quality and safe patient care while training generations of compassionate, competent health care providers to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. Care team members provide care for patients at 14 hospitals with approximately 2,500 beds and 5 additional hospital locations in development, more than 300 telehealth sites and nearly 750 care locations situated in the Lowcountry, Midlands, Pee Dee and Upstate regions of South Carolina. In 2021, for the seventh consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit muschealth.org.

MUSC and its affiliates have collective annual budgets of $4.4 billion. The close to 25,000 MUSC team members include world-class faculty, physicians, students, specialty providers, affiliates and scientists who deliver groundbreaking education, research, technology solutions and patient care.