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M after 137 years.
INSIDE, 4A
Friday, July 31,20201 GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com
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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
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