2 more deaths reported; Peterson Health says hospital being stretched

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A Peterson Health respiratory therapist wears a fully contained breathing apparatus in order to treat patients with COVID-19 at the Kerrville hospital. 

As Kerr County leaders, including those from Peterson Health, were hosting a community meeting about the coronavirus spread in the community, the state of Texas continued its grim reporting of COVID-19's impact by announcing two additional deaths of county residents. 

The community meeting, which was hosted by the city of Kerrville, featured Peterson Health President and CEO Cory Edmondson making a plea to the community to wear masks and take precautions against contracting the virus, which has now stretched Peterson Regional Medical Center's capacity to care for those not infected with COVID-19. 

Edmondson conceded that last month PRMC had a day when it had 36 patients admitted for COVID-19 — 40.9% of its capacity. That number had previously been unreported. Across the Texas Department of State Health Service's San Antonio region, which includes Kerr County and serves 2.9 million people, there were just 40 intensive care unit beds available. Nearly 14,000 people were hospitalized across the state with COVID-19. 

On Thursday, Peterson's COVID-19 patient count was at 34. Edmondson said that hospitals in San Antonio were overwhelmed by the surge of critically ill patients, and he said that a single COVID-19 patient in a Peterson intensive care bed can require as many as nine medical personnel for treatment. 

"We need your assistance with compliance," Edmondson said in polite terms when it comes to mask-wearing and social distancing. 

"This is putting undue stress on the health care staff," Edmondson said of the pandemic surge. 

The community meeting also addressed how the vaccine will be distributed in the coming weeks with more than 3,400 health care workers expected to be vaccinated first, followed by about 14,000 people who are 65 years old and older. The state of Texas has moved older people to the front of the line, but those who are 16-years-old and older, who have at least one major pre-existing conditions, including pregnancy, will also be eligible for the vaccine — most likely the one made by Moderna. 

Dub Thomas, Kerr County's emergency management coordinator, said that residents should sign up for the county's Code Red text messaging service in order to receive updates about when the vaccine will be available. 

Edmondson, however, cautioned that Kerr County could still be faced with five long weeks of prolonged COVID-19 infections and deaths before the number of cases will subside. 

Kerrville Fire Department Chief Eric Maloney said there were more than 300 active cases of COVID-19 in the county currently. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 286 active cases, but those numbers probably don't include 132 people who have tested positive for the virus in the last three days. 

On Thursday, DSHS acknowledged that a person died on Dec. 29 and one on Jan. 1. Since May 31, an estimated 75 people have died from COVID-19 in Kerr County, including 33 in December. That death toll is an estimate calculated by this news organization utilizing numbers from DSHS, Health and Human Services, Peterson Health and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 

DSHS said it had 393 new death reports related to the virus on Thursday. Since Oct. 26, more than 100 people have died every day in Texas. The state's death toll is now approaching 30,000 people. 








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