This morning, Centra Medical Group Nationwide vaccinated its first patient in Phase 1b of vaccine rollout in Virginia, which went into effect Jan. 18 in the Pittsylvania-Danville and Southside Health Districts.
The Lynchburg-based hospital system with a prominent community hospital in Gretna vaccinated Mrs. Irene Devine, an elderly woman with ample reason in wishing to arm herself against COVID-19. My husband died of COVID, and then I contracted it, Devine said. I just believe in the science of it. I have a daughter that s a scientist and she thinks it s great. I have another daughter who s a nurse and she thinks it s great. And my son is a doctor and he s already had his. So those are all good reasons, I think.
Lynchburg police investigate homicide
The Lynchburg Police Department is investigating a homicide that occurred near 12th and Pierce Streets yesterday afternoon. Just before 5:00 yesterday, officers responded to 12th and Kemper Streets for a report of a shooting and found 28-year-old Samantha Robinson of Lynchburg. with a gunshot wound. She was transported to Lynchburg General Hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries. It is Lynchburg’s 2
nd homicide of the year.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Lynchburg Police or Crime Stoppers at (888) 798-5900.
Heather Mayberry, of Rustburg, was awarded Nurse of the Year by the Virginia Nurses Association in recognition of her work with the coronavirus pandemic.
Acceleration of the coronavirusâ spread from the holidays has raised red flags among Lynchburg-area health professionals, as more than 100 COVID-19 patients have been reliably occupying about a third of local hospital beds.
Centra Health CEO Dr. Andy Mueller said at a Thursday news conference the providerâs coronavirus numbers have been âincredibly dramatic and something that I didnât think that we would honestly ever get to.â
Though Centraâs health system has been able to bend to accommodate fluctuating levels of patients whose symptoms are severe enough to require care, he said âweâre starting to get close to the breaking point.â
Medical and nursing students in the Lynchburg-area received the first doses of a coronavirus vaccine last week, as local health care officials moved to inoculate the regionâs frontline caregivers from the deadly pathogen.
The first of about 400 students who work at Centra Health facilities began the first round of vaccinations last week, according to Michael Elliot, Centraâs senior vice president and chief transformation officer.
The student vaccinations are expected to continue into this week, Elliot said. Centra officials anticipate vaccinating the majority of student workers by Jan. 15, a feat that will allow students to continue their studies amid the still-raging pandemic.