MARQUETTE — The Luce-Mackinac-Alger-Schoolcraft District Health Department on Friday reported a 604% increase in COVID-19 cases from August to mid-October 2020 to the same period this year.

LMAS District Health Department said it has been working closely for more than 18 months with Helen Newberry Joy Hospital, Mackinac Straits Health System, Munising Memorial Hospital and Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital. Additional health care partners include the Region 8 Health Care Coalition and local emergency managers. Without these partnerships and the intense efforts by all, the COVID pandemic impact on the area would be much worse, it said.

From Aug. 1, 2020, to Oct. 12, 2020, the department added 184 cases and no deaths. From Aug. 1 to Oct. 13 of this year, it added 1,295 cases in the four counties and four deaths, representing a 604% increase in cases from the same time period in 2020.

“This is taking a toll on families, communities and on health care and public health capacity to continue to test, conduct case investigations, contact tracing, along with caring for patients with and without COVID,” the district said in a statement.

LMAS provided updates in a joint statement from each of its district hospitals.

Helen Newberry Joy Hospital reported that staff this month has administered 38 monoclonal antibody treatments — an infusion or injection that can help keep a person with COVID from getting seriously ill and having to be hospitalized. In September, 48 treatments were administered.

During recent weeks, hospital staff conducted an average of 50-60 COVID tests daily, the department said, and transferring patients to hospitals with higher levels of care has been a growing challenge. Recently two critically ill patients remained at the hospital for 12 or more hours, with one COVID patient needing to be intubated because there was no place to transfer the patient.

Lori Gelinas, an infection prevention and employee health nurse, said, “We are not a critical care hospital but we feel like we are at times serving in that role due to other hospitals being unable to accept transfers.”

Mackinac Straits Health System is facing similar challenges, LMAS said.

“In St. Ignace, we continue to see an increase in the number of patients presenting with COVID-19 symptoms, especially in our Fast Care Clinic and emergency room,” said Karen Cheeseman, MSHS president and CEO. “Our staff has done an amazing job of caring for members of the community, while balancing the increased volumes and barriers with patients and visitors.”

The hospital also noted increasing difficulties with transferring patients in need of higher levels of care — some COVID patients and others critically ill patients. However, staffing issues at other hospitals, reduced EMS availability and other issues continue to make it difficult to get patients to the care they need.

At Munising Memorial Hospital, Chief Nursing Officer Christi Salo indicated the challenges are much the same as other area hospitals. MMH recently started monoclonal antibody treatments, but can conduct only two a day due to staffing shortages. Testing also has increased.

The hospital has been able to keep some COVID patients in house, Salo said, but for those needing critical care, the most difficult challenge is finding a hospital that can accept them and then how to transfer them. “Bed and staffing shortages are making this more challenging,” she said. “Transfer wait times are now running 12 to 30 hours.”

At Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital, CEO Bob Crumb reported that as numbers of COVID cases continue to rise in the area, their behind-the-scenes staff continues to provide care, testing and vaccinations.

Crumb echoed a similar sentiment.

“Staffing shortages and difficulty transferring patients have been our biggest struggle, especially during this largest surge we have experienced locally, and staff are exhausted,” he said.

The hospital has prioritized testing, vaccine distribution and treatment, according to LMAS. Like the other hospitals, SMH is providing monoclonal antibody infusions and injections, both at the hospital and offsite at the Nicolet Business Center.

The four hospitals and LMAS urged people to wear masks fully covering their mouths and noses in public spaces, get vaccinated, maintain distance from those not in their immediate households, get tested for COVID and stay home when they don’t feel well.

Joint information center created

Frontline UPdates JIC, a group of health care communications profesisonals from the Upper Peninsula, has formed a joint information center to share messages across the U.P. about COVID-19 efforts.

This week, it announced on Facebook that of Friday, its U.P. COVID-19 snapshot showed that 57 adult patients were hospitalized for COVID, and 19 of those are occupying intensive care unit beds. Six of the 19 ICE patients are on ventilators.