As of Wednesday, the number of Coronavirus cases in South Carolina is 2, 552 according to DHEC's website.
Kershaw County is seeing the highest rate of the virus, at 247 cases per 100,000 people.
Prisma Health was able to provide critical assistance to KershawHealth Hospital.
Five (5) ventilators were transferred in early March to the Camden facility for critical patients fighting COVID-19 as well as providing personal protective equipment and testing kits.
Dr. Tallulah Holmstrom, Chief Medical Officer for KershawHealth, said the hospital has also benefitted "from Prisma Health’s recent launch of in-house testing for COVID-19. Now, instead of waiting days or a week for inpatient results, we are receiving their results in hours."
In Greenville, 223 people have tested positive for the virus, 126 in Spartanburg and 85 in Anderson.
63 people have died from Coronavirus in South Caroliana.
For more information about COVID-19 and Prisma Health’s continued response:
Current COVID-19 cases in the U.S. as of April 9, 2020
Official News Release from Prisma Health below:
GREENVILLE, SC – When Kershaw County unexpectedly became South Carolina’s early hotspot for COVID-19 cases, Prisma Health was uniquely positioned to provide critical assistance.
Both healthcare systems are members of the Midlands Regional Healthcare Coalition, one of the state’s four regional coalitions that coordinate for emergency preparedness.
KershawHealth hospital in Camden, SC, experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases in March, and Prisma Health was able to transfer five ventilators to the Camden facility.
The ventilators were rapidly put into service for critical patients who needed breathing support as they fought COVID-19.
“We are proud to serve as a regional partner to help ensure that critical needs are being addressed and resources are shared wherever possible.
There are quite a few models of ventilators and in our larger healthcare system we were able to locate the exact models of ventilators that KershawHealth’s critical care teams were already trained to use,” said Dr. Stephen Shelton, who serves as Prisma Health–Midlands Incident Commander for the COVID-19 crisis response.
The five ventilators were located at Prisma Health Tuomey Hospital in Sumter.
All five units have now been in active use for a month in Camden providing lifesaving support and will be returned to Tuomey Hospital when KershawHealth no longer needs them.
In addition, Prisma Health was able to provide KershawHealth a supply of personal protective equipment and COVID-19 testing kits until more arrived.
This assistance helped KershawHealth respond quickly to its initial surge of patients and provided the time they needed to locate and purchase scarce supplies as they continued to ramp up their ongoing COVID-19 response.
Dr. Tallulah Holmstrom, Chief Medical Officer for KershawHealth, said, “Our collaboration with Prisma Health is longstanding.
Patients reap the benefits when their community hospital has a cooperative relationship for services such as extended lab support for hospital bloodwork.
We also benefit from Prisma Health’s recent launch of in-house testing for COVID-19.
Now, instead of waiting days or a week for inpatient results, we are receiving their results in hours. When we work together, we can better serve our patients and communities, especially as we face this public health crisis.”
For more information about COVID-19 and Prisma Health’s continued response, visit PrismaHealth.org/Coronavirus.
