CoxHealth: COVID-19 emergency ward empty

A photo posted from CoxHealth’s Twitter account on Thursday showed an empty COVID-19 intensive care unit in what hospital officials call a sign of hope.

The post said at its peak the ward housed 170 COVID patients. In December, CoxHealth reported 163 patients in the ward, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.

In another tweet Thursday, CoxHealth President and CEO Steve Edwards shared a second photo of the ICU ward, featuring two employees wearing personal protective equipment with arms raised in celebration of the empty ward, seen in the background.

“This is a moment of celebration as we vacated the emergency COVID ICU,” Edwards wrote in the Feb. 18 tweet. “We are mindful of future worries, but for now, here comes the sun!”

CoxHealth had 46 COVID-19 patients as of the morning, with approximately 10 in critical condition, said spokesperson Kaitlyn McConnell. Thursday marks the first time the unit has been empty in months.

“We’ve seen a pretty significant decrease over the last few weeks, as part of a nationwide decrease,” McConnell said. “The important thing to keep in mind is we still have COVID patients … so it’s not like COVID is over. There’s always a chance we need to reuse the unit in the future. At least it’s a sign of hope right now.”

As of 10 a.m. Feb 18, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department’s COVID-19 dashboard showed 71 patients hospitalized out of 1,059 active cases, with 17 patients in critical care. The positive testing rate between Jan. 24 and Jan. 30 was 8%.

The Health Department announced on Feb. 17 the deaths of five Greene County residents, bringing the local total to 404.

Earlier this month, CoxHealth and Mercy Springfield were announced as partners with the state to increase coronavirus vaccine administration. Springfield health care systems were slated to receive roughly 5,700 doses every other week in February, with the two hospitals alternating on a weekly basis.

CoxHealth in December announced a $1 million expansion to the COVID-19 ward, adding 33 beds to the fifth-floor unit at Cox South. The original 51-bed unit was completed in early April, and CoxHealth started using the space for patients in July, according to past reporting.