30-bed emergency field hospital to open in Lenoir, as Carolinas report record hospitalizations
Officials said the unit will help support the treatment of patients who are COVID-positive but do not need the support of a ventilator. Author: Meilin Tompkins, Chloe Leshner (WCNC), Vanessa Ruffes (WCNC) Published: 3:12 PM EST December 31, 2020 Updated: 6:51 AM EST January 5, 2021
LENOIR, N.C. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to tax healthcare workers across the Carolinas, crews with Samaritan s Purse are finalizing construction of a 30-bed emergency field hospital on the grounds of the Caldwell UNC Health Care in Lenoir, North Carolina. The facility is expected to open mid-week.
Michael McDonald sat in a gray chair dressed in purple scrubs, a gray T-shirt, a blue medical hairnet and a blue medical mask on Tuesday. The room at Catawba Valley Medical Center was silent.
Anna Seagle, a registered pharmacist, prepared a needle, then pulled a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from a bottle into the syringe as McDonald watched. He rolled up his sleeve. She wiped his arm, then stuck the needle in.
The room erupted in applause and cheers. It was the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine administered in Catawba County.
The day was exciting for medical professionals who have been battling the COVID-19 pandemic for months, said Dr. Phil Greene, chief of staff at Catawba Valley Medical Center.
Wilkes Countyâs first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine is expected next week, but local and state officials still donât know how much is coming.
Meanwhile, 85,800 doses of the Pfizer vaccine are expected at 53 hospitals across the state by the end of this week. North Carolinaâs first shipment â 1,925 doses â arrived at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem about 7:30 a.m. Monday. Vaccination of employees there started Monday.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced the number of doses expected at each of the 53 hospitals this week, including 975 doses at Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital in Elkin.
WCCB Charlotte s CW
December 16, 2020
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Pfizer vaccine is already being given to frontline workers in Charlotte and across the country.
42 more hospitals in North Carolina will get their first shipments on Thursday, including Novant Health Presbyterian.
The first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Catawba County was administered Tuesday to a frontline health worker at Catawba Valley Medical Center.
Catawba Valley Health System was among 11 hospitals in North Carolina to receive the earliest shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which was approved for emergency use on Saturday.
Three hospitals received their doses on Monday and eight on Tuesday, Gov. Roy Cooper said during a press briefing Tuesday. The remaining 42 hospitals slated to receive allotments of the stateâs first shipment of the vaccine will get their doses on Thursday. Frye Regional Medical Center is slated to receive 975 doses, the same number as CVMC.