Lee Health COVID-19 numbers show slight improvement from recent surge

Lee Health says for the second time in the last month, doctors have discharged more COVID-19 patients than patients that have been admitted over the last day.

The hospital said it hopes this downward trend continues, signifying that the peak has passed.

This is the third consecutive day Lee Health’s numbers have inched down instead of up.

“Things, at least on paper, are starting to feel hopeful, I can’t say that has transitioned to the actual physical living of it,” said Dr. Stephanie Stovall, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist and the interim chief of quality and patient safety for Lee Health.

The caseload still worries them. And while the numbers are trending down, deaths are still up with 13 deaths on Wednesday.

That’s because the actual physical living of it hasn’t changed much in the hospital system which are still operating at 101% capacity.

People are still on ventilators, people are still dying.

“So, can I sell hope to them,” Stovall said. “I don’t know that I can sell it to them, I can help them find it. I can help them remember it and embrace those small vestiges that we occasionally forget in the mundane work, the overwork.”

The overwork came from the drastic spike in Lee Health hospitalizations from COVID-19.

There were 36 COVID-19 patients on June 26 but by Aug. 26, there were 657.

• As of Thursday morning, Lee Health has 596 COVID-19 patients isolated in their hospitals (inpatient).
• Of these patients, 12 of them are children being treated at Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida.
• On Wednesday, there were 60 new COVID-19 hospital admissions and 64 COVID-19 discharges.
• 50% of ventilators and 3% of ICU rooms are available for use. There are 86 COVID-19 patients on ventilators and 113 in the intensive care unit.
• On Thursday morning, census was at 101% of staffed operational bed capacity.
• 13 people died on Wednesday

It’s good news to see the numbers decline but it’s not the numbers giving the doctors, nurses and chaplains hope.

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