Coronavirus Update and Health System Preparations - 6/17

Testing and Confirmed Cases
To protect patient privacy, DCH has established a minimum threshold of five for reporting numbers of inpatients with laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19.

DCH internal counts as of 3:20 p.m. on 6/17/20:

• 59 inpatients are being treated for COVID-19.
• 17 inpatients who are positive for COVID-19 are being treated in the ICU.
• Six who are positive for COVID-19 are on ventilators.
• 1,212 (cumulative) positive COVID-19 tests including results from the ED, triage tent and inpatient. These individuals are not necessarily in the hospital.
• 9,916 (cumulative) negative tests at DCH sites.
• 238 inpatients (cumulative) who were positive for COVID-19 have been discharged.
• 57 inpatients (cumulative) who were positive for COVID-19 have died at DCH. This is not an indication of the cause of death, only that the individuals were positive for COVID-19 at the time of death.
• 25 Tuscaloosa County residents (cumulative) who were positive for COVID-19 have died (per the Alabama Department of Public Health).

Also included is a chart showing the percent positive among those tested at DCH locations. This chart reflects totals by the end of each day (except today).

Declining PUIs
Persons Under Investigation (PUIs) are individuals who are suspected of having COVID-19 but are awaiting a test result. Rapid in-house testing helps determine where a patient can be cared for, and with increasing volumes it has become even more critical. However, the process has been hampered by supply delays.

Late last week, DCH started using another piece of equipment called the Panther by Hologic. The system and current supplies can support up to 3,000 tests per month. Implementing the new system has helped to significantly reduce the wait times for inpatient results, as well as keep up with the volume of tests being ordered. This has also led to the more rapid reclassification of PUIs to confirmed positive or negative for COVID-19 for our daily reports and patient placement.