About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 31, 2020)
' ^ Gainesville law firm set to close M after 137 years. INSIDE, 4A Friday, July 31,20201 GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com Boy Scout builds compost bins for food pantry, inside, 4a Honestly Local Area hospitals ‘essentially full’ Hospital chief: Tast time for our communities to get serious’ about stopping spread BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Setting recent records for the number of COVID-19 patients, Northeast Georgia Health Sys tem’s Gainesville and Braselton hospitals “have been essentially full for the last two weeks,” the Gainesville hospital’s chief of medical staff said Thursday, July 30. “Our employees and physicians continue to bring their best every day to care for community, but our resources have been stretched to their limits,” Dr. Clifton Hast ings said. According to data from the health system, the Gainesville hospital has a capacity of 571 beds, including 112ICU beds. The total number of occupied beds Thursday night was 561, including 107 in ICU. The hospital had 109 COVID-19 patients as of Thursday morning. And the Braselton hospital has a capacity of 165 beds, including 24 ICU beds. The total number of occupied beds Thursday night was 146, including 23 in ICU. The hos pital had 46 COVID-19 patients as of Thursday morning. “We’ve expanded total capac ity at each NGMC hospital to meet the needs of the community,” said Dr. John Delzell, NGHS incident commander. “We’re better pre pared now that at any other time during the pandemic, thanks to quick work by our employees and physicians to create new units, convert negative pressure rooms and flex staffing levels.” “We’ve really seen the 90 to 100% full levels consistently at the Gainesville and Braselton hos pitals during the past two weeks,” said Sean Couch, NGHS spokes man, adding that the “numbers change constantly.” The hospitals have been able to transfer some less sick patients to the health system’s hospitals in Barrow and Lumpkin counties “to free up beds and resources,” Hast ings said. “We have not had to divert or transfer any patients out of our system due to capacity con straints, but it’s taken constant and creative work by our teams to keep patients flowing through hospitals safely and efficiently.” The hospital system is “still evaluating and accepting needed transfers from other hospitals” in Northeast Georgia, Hastings said. “Given our capacity constraints and current volumes, we are not accepting transfers from outside our region, with the exception of trauma or STEMI heart attack patients.” Hastings did say, “We are still offering all services, surgeries and procedures as usual. We will continue to do that as long as we safely can, but it won’t be possible if COVID cases continue to rise.” “That’s why we continue to stress that it is absolutely critical that ■ Please see CAPACITY, 3A Pre-K in a pandemic Youngsters play on the playground Thursday, July 30, at Gainesville Academy. Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times How local providers are preparing the county’s youngest BY NATHAN BERG nberg@gainesvilletimes.com As schools prepare to return to class in a global pandemic, so too do pre-K providers, and it isn’t easy explaining the importance of social distancing and regular hand washing to young children. While guidance from the state has been thorough, says Pam Forrester, director of Gainesville Academy’s childcare center, putting precaution ary procedures into practice is still going to be a struggle. “Pre-K is going to be a bit more of a challenge this year,” she said. All pre-K providers that fall under the umbrella of Georgia’s pre-K pro gram have been sent guidelines for re-opening from the Georgia Depart ment of Early Care and Learning (DECAL), according to Susan Adams, deputy commissioner for DECAL’s pre-K and instructional support. The guidelines advise pre-K provid ers on matters including classroom requirements, family participa tion in the classroom and sanitation suggestions. “What we’ve done is given recom mendations that follow closely with the CDC guidance,” Adams said. “And then also the guidance that came out from the American Academy of Pedi atrics that are specific for pre-school aged children.” DECAL’s plan allows providers to choose from three instructional mod els: traditional face-to-face, hybrid and fully virtual, although it recom mends strongly that “programs place a priority on having students physi cally present in Pre-K classrooms.” Those who choose the traditional model, like Gainesville Academy, are asked to come up with a plan for rotating classroom materials and sup plies to allow time for sanitation and cleaning. The plan also acknowledges that maintaining physical distance of 6 feet among students at all times ■ Please see PRE-K, 3A City ponders improvements to Park Hill BY MEGAN REED mreed@gainesvilletimes.com Gainesville officials are looking to the Park Hill corridor as the next focus for revitaliza tion efforts, and after seeking public input, the city has presented a plan that calls for some improvements such as better pedestrian access, streetscaping, more park space and the repur posing of existing properties in the area. The study, which began last year, looked at an approximately 2.5-mile stretch between the Gainesville Civic Center and Gainesville’s Atlanta Botanical Garden. It included input from interviews, a community survey and a 14-member steering committee. The southern portion of the area, which runs from the Civic Center to Enota Drive, “has really always been about community,” said Leigh Askew Elkins of the Carl Vinson Institute at the University of Georgia, which worked with the city on the project. ■ Please see PARKHILL,6A Rendering courtesy City of Gainesville Proposed revitalization efforts on the Park Hill corridor would include better pedestrian access, streetscaping, more park space and the repurposing of existing properties in the area. Elections board approves two Lula alcohol referendums Hall County’s elections board approved two alcohol referendums to be on the ballot Nov. 3 for city of Lula residents at the board’s meeting Thursday. The two referendums are for Sunday sales of malt beverages and wine by the drink, as well as for package sales by retailers of malt bever ages and wine on Sundays between 12:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. The resolutions for the referendums were previously approved by the Lula City Council. Megan Reed This e-edition sponsored by: Rjght Choice HOMES jacksonemc.com
