Gov. Kemp speaks in Gainesville about vaccine distribution in nursing homes Gov. Brian Kemp speaks Monday, Dec. 28, 2020, outside of The Oaks at Limestone nursing home in Gainesville. Nursing home staff were set to receive some of the first COVID-19 vaccines allocated to long-term care facilities. - photo by Nick Watson
Nursing home staff members in Gainesville were set to receive some of the first COVID-19 vaccine doses allocated to long-term care facilities Monday, Dec. 28.
Gov. Brian Kemp spoke Monday morning outside of Pruitt Health’s The Oaks at Limestone on Flintridge Road about the beginning of an “exciting and important chapter” regarding the vaccine rollout.
Staff with the Northeast Georgia Health System are warning that they may be forced to ration care if COVID-19 cases continue to rise post-holiday.
“We’re struggling to find staff and space to care for people, and our frontline workers are exhausted,” said Doctor Clifton Hastings, Chief of Medical Staff for Northeast Georgia Medical Center, in a press release sent from the health system. “If COVID cases continue to increase, we may be forced to start making decisions about who we can treat effectively and who we have to send elsewhere or turn away. That’s a decision no physician should have to make, and a situation no one in our community should have to face.”
Anchor/Reporter
Santa (Maintenance Director, Brian Polley) and Mrs. Claus (Activities Director, Drew Carr) pay a visit to Manor Lake on Christmas Eve.
Drema Thompson
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues with record-breaking numbers of hospitalizations at Northeast Georgia Health System facilities, the holiday season may look a little less festive than normal. That is especially the case for those living in assisted living and memory care facilities, where strict precautions are still in place to keep residents safe.
“Yes, they miss seeing their families,” Drema Thompson, Executive Director with Manor Lake Assisted Living and Memory Care, said. “The families miss them; they miss their families. But we’re trying to make it as pleasant for them as we can with what we can do within the guidelines.”
Healthcare workers at Northeast Georgia Health Systems say they're spread so thin, they're worried they won't have enough beds for patients and fear they will soon have to turn some away.