DCH Coronavirus Update 7-29-20
- Category: Coronavirus
- Posted On:
Testing and Confirmed Cases
To protect patient privacy, DCH has established a minimum threshold of five for reporting numbers of inpatients with laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19.
DCH internal counts as of 3:20 p.m. on 7/29/20:
- 101 inpatients are being treated for COVID-19.
- 28 inpatients who are positive for COVID-19 are being treated in the ICU.
- 14 who are positive for COVID-19 are on ventilators.
- 2,205 (cumulative) unique positives for COVID-19 tests including results from the ED, triage tent and inpatient. These individuals are not necessarily in the hospital.
- 14,611 (cumulative) unique negatives for COVID-19 at DCH sites.
- 2,841 (cumulative) positive COVID-19 at DCH sites. These individuals are not necessarily in the hospital.
- 18,852 (cumulative) negative tests at DCH sites.
- 526 inpatients (cumulative) who were positive for COVID-19 have been discharged.
- 105 inpatients (cumulative) who were positive for COVID-19 have died at DCH. This is not an indication of the cause of death, only that the individuals were positive for COVID-19 at the time of death.
- 61 Tuscaloosa County residents (cumulative) who were positive for COVID-19 have died (per the Alabama Department of Public Health).
Donate Plasma to Help COVID-19 Patients
The idea that something in the blood of someone who recovered from a disease could help others has been around since the 1800s. The first valid trial of this concept was done with diphtheria in 1892.
Today we know that plasma is the portion of blood that is rich in antibodies. For months now, plasma from those who have recovered from COVID-19 (known as convalescent plasma) has been tried as a treatment for those critically ill with the disease. While research is still ongoing, some results of this very old therapy being put to new use have been positive.
If you have recovered from COVID-19, you may be able to help. Please contact LifeSouth and donate. Make sure you let them know you have recovered and would like to donate convalescent plasma for the treatment of patients at DCH.
On a related note, do you think you might have had COVID-19 but are not sure? Every eligible blood donation through LifeSouth is screened for COVID-19 antibodies, and the results are made available to you through the organization’s donor portal system.
You can set up an appointment to donate by visiting the link below. Thank you for helping and/or encouraging others to do the same!
