By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
As of yet, no active COVID-19 cases have been reported in Sitka, but local healthcare providers are planning for increases in patient capacity and equipment to treat them.
But Dr. Elliot Bruhl, SEARHC chief medical officer, says much of the responsibility for stopping the global pandemic lies with ordinary people.
“Really the most important thing that people can do is understand that every citizen is a part of our response to these circumstances,” Bruhl said Wednesday in a call-in press conference. “People need to take the public health advisories and mandates from our governor to heart. Those mandates are essential to maintaining the health of our community.”
Bruhl is vice president of the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC), and the organization’s COVID-19 incident commander.
He said that in some areas the public has ignored health warnings and orders at a heavy cost.
“What unfortunately has happened in many communities around the globe including in Northern Italy (an area hit hard by the outbreak)… is that people have not been sheltering in place. They have been gathering in groups. They have been not washing their hands and not observing the necessity to self-quarantine. And the result of that is the rapid spread of this virus,” he said.
Dr. Elliot Bruhl gives an update on work being done at SEARHC to prepare for COVID-19 cases, during a March 5 meeting at the Sitka Fire Hall. (Sentinel Photo)
Testing is critical to prevent spread of the virus, he added.
“We want to be testing more – I think that’s one of the very legitimate concerns of the public . . . are we testing enough?” he said.
Bruhl said that testing parameters include “elevated temperature cough or upper respiratory infections including colds, and patients who have a strong exposure history including travel out of state, travel or residence in a community where there is community spread of COVID-19.”
Those interested in being tested should call SEARHC at 907-966-8799 or email covid19.searhc.org.
While Bruhl listed general statistics on COVID-19 testing, he said that community-specific data will be withheld out of concern for patient privacy.
As of printing, all confirmed COVID-19 cases in Southeast Alaska are in Juneau (10) and Ketchikan (14).
“Being able to offer it (testing) to anybody and everybody, including people who are well or perceive themselves as well, would be wonderful,” Bruhl said. “But at this point in time it’s not consistent with the availability of a limited resource.”
He said SEARHC has 1,460 COVID-19 testing kits in its inventory.
Another critical issue in this pandemic has been access to ventilators for patients requiring critical care.
Bruhl said there are 13 ventilators in Sitka, and a handful of others in Wrangell and on Prince of Wales Island. SEARHC, he said, has a line on nine more ventilators as well.
“Our ability to care for critically ill patients is substantial,” Bruhl said. “We have 13 ventilators in Sitka, and we have staff to support that care. We also have 12 negative pressure rooms that we have erected and can double that within a day. We currently have 25 beds in Sitka that are currently in operation, but we have the ability to rapidly expand that to 40 acute beds.”
He noted that “our standard operations are for critically ill patients to be mobilized and transferred to our medical hubs, primary Mt. Edgecumge Medical Center in Sitka.”
Other plans Bruhl mentioned are increased staff training on dealing with COVID-19, reassignment of staff to critical needs, and cancellation of elective and non-essential medical care for the time being.
SEARHC is also requesting that the state allow the use of Mt. Edgecumbe High School as a medical facility if needed.
Bruhl said he hopes SEARHC will “be able to utilize that (Mt. Edgecumbe High) for an alternative and expanded care site that would be able to address both mild COVID-19 cases as well as isolation of community members, and also possibly a location for some of our staff to stay.”
He noted that Southeast Alaska is in a unique position regarding the new virus.
“Really we’re in an ideal situation, a much better situation than many, many people in the country because of our geographic isolation, because of the fact that we have already enacted travel bans.”
