HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — New complaints about overcrowding at hospitals across metro Atlanta and the state emerged as a top elected official claims patients are being treated in hallways and other spaces.
According to data from the Georgia Coordinating Center, the website used by EMS personnel and hospitals, several metro Atlanta hospitals are at critical capacity. They are doing what they can to house and treat patients.
“We certainly have been very busy here at Piedmont Henry Hospital,” said David Kent, the CEO of Piedmont Henry Hospital.
Kent said since the pandemic, their patient volumes have been at an all-time high with them running at capacity or close to it on a regular basis.
“The other reality is when our hospital is full, we don’t turn anyone away through the Emergency Department. That’s part of our mission and what we end up doing is we turn parts of our Emergency Department into an inpatient unit and caring for those patients there," Kent said.
And, by there, Kent meant in areas such as ER hallways. But, Piedmont Henry Hospital isn’t alone. Georgia House Minority Leader James Beverly said it’s happening across the state.
"It's in Savannah, it’s in Macon and it’s everywhere it’s not just Atlanta that’s having an overflow," Beverly said.
He added that the problem is being driven by multiple things.
“People are out of bed space, you couple that with workforce shortages that have happened all over the state. And the reality is that, look, the governor has not extended health care coverage to all Georgians. So, people are now using emergency rooms as a place for preventive care because they don’t have insurance,” added Beverly.
While many hospitals have found short term fixes to meet demand, for example by using hallways for extra space, Piedmont Henry Hospital said they are working on a long-term solution with the construction of a new hospital tower.
“We’re going to be breaking ground at the most likely in January 2024. It’s going to be 96 beds and three more operating rooms. It’s going to go a long way to serve not only people of Henry County, but people of this entire region for quite some time. We’re really excited about it, added Kent.”
Beverly also said Georgia opting not to expand the Medicaid in the state and the closing of the Atlanta Medical Center, has exacerbated the problem. He is encouraging people to contact their lawmakers.