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Bronson Methodist Hospital said it was prepared for the possibility of a second wave of COVID-19.
Dr. Martinson Arnan, the chief clinical officer said Bronson took care of the most COVID-19 patients the end of March, beginning of April. He said the hospital was never overwhelmed during the surge, and was always able to care for COVID-19 patient.
On July 17, 202, Bronson reported 16 current patients had COVID-19, 193 cumulative recoveries and 42 cumulative deaths.
West Michigan saw an increase in cases with younger people testing positive, and Arnan said that’s why there wasn’t as many people being hospitalized for COVID-19 yet.
“We know it’s only a matter of time for a person who’s carrying COVID, who might be young, to infect someone who is older and perhaps more vulnerable. That’s when we may see another rise of COVID-19 hospitalizations,” said Arnan.
He said then there was a concern of the second wave of COVID-19 occurring during the flu season, especially with low vaccination rates.
Arnan said health systems would need to be prepared to determine if a patient had the flu or COVID-19 quickly, and said that was just one of the ways Bronson was prepared.
“Having a hardwired way to test people, and test them quickly,” said Arnan. “How we utilize PPE in terms of determining when is it necessary to use one kind of PPE versus another.”
Arnan said the key to modern medicine is treating patients for the disease they have, so he said that’s why it’s crucial to determine which virus the patient is sick with.