Alabama hospitals ask for supply donations as coronavirus deaths rise

The East Alabama Medical Center in Lee County has issued a plea to local businesses for donations of medical items as it fights a deadly coronavirus outbreak in Lee County.

As cases topped 700 statewide on Saturday, the EAMC announced five of its confirmed coronavirus patients had died since Friday morning.

“Our hospital family expresses its collective condolences to the families of these five patients,” stated Laura Grill, EAMC president and CEO. “As everyone knows, this virus has taken a toll on our nation and world, and our community is not exempt from that. Our hearts and prayers are with these families at this very difficult time.”

Grill added that “the ICU staff, respiratory therapists and physicians who worked most closely with these patients are especially struggling and we ask that the community lift them up today just as they have been lifting up our whole organization the past two weeks.”

More: 5 die from coronavirus complications in less than 48 hours at Lee County hospital

The EAMC has requested businesses consider donating the following items:

Isolation gowns: non-sterile, impervious

Masks: surgical, procedure, ear loop, ear loop with face shield, or fog-free procedure mask

Latex gloves: exam, nitrile or chemo

Hand sanitizer: 70% ethyl alcohol

"Businesses may bring these items to the collection site outside of EAMC’s Main Lobby between 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. each weekday. An EAMC representative will be there to collect the supplies," the EAMC said in a press release.

In Jefferson County, where the largest portion of coronavirus cases are located, its local health department has also issued a plea for PPE items.

The Jefferson County Department of Health is collecting:

N95 Masks

Surgical Masks

Isolation Gowns

Gloves

Face Shields

Sterile Specimen Collection Swabs

Hand Sanitizer

In a policy shift, the JCDH is also accepting homemade face masks and gowns to be used by local health care workers and first responders. Alabamians across the state have organized on social media and beyond to share sewing patterns and material tips as home-bound sewers stitch together face masks and medical gowns.

In a release, UAB Hospital said JCDH donations can be taken to the Christian Service Mission Warehouse at 3600 3rd Ave. South in Birmingham.

"Please contact the JCDH Coordination Center at 205-254-2550 Monday – Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for questions regarding donations," the release stated.

As of Friday, March 27, they are also accepting homemade face masks and gowns that will be used by local health care workers, first responders and others on the front lines of the COVID-19 response.

As cases soared this week, public life in Alabama further ground to a halt as civic leaders attempt to slow the spread of infection. Experts say social distancing and isolation is one of the few tools available to slow infection rates and prevent hospitals and medical staff from becoming overwhelmed.

Hospitals around the state have already experienced extreme shortages of equipment, particularly in the PPE, or personal protective equipment, categories, forcing workers to ration things like gloves and masks.

Though many are clamoring for widespread testing, some Alabama physicians like Dr. Ted Cox in Winfield, Alabama, say they must limit testing to symptomatic people to conserve PPE resources. Cox and other medical professionals around the state have tried to ring the alarm to urge Alabamians to take social distancing measures seriously immediately.

"There is no way that we can handle a huge rush of people," Cox said. "If we overrun the medical facilities because we have too many cases at one time, there's no way we can handle it. We have three ventilators in this hospital. What a horrible, horrible, horrible situation it will be. You can just look to the folks in Italy, who have to decide who gets these ventilators and who doesn't."

More: 'Absolute unknown territory': Alabama hospitals brace for coronavirus onslaught lacking resources

Dr. Sarah Nafziger, the co-chair of UAB’s emergency management committee, acknowledged Tuesday the lack of PPE equipment around the state, which she said was due to issues outside of "local control."

"This is an unprecedented time, and we're making decisions based on what's best for everyone based on what we have in supplies today," Nafziger said.

Confirmed coronavirus cases in Alabama reached 702 by 5:30 p.m. Saturday, an increase of 100 cases in 24 hours.

All but 13 Alabama counties confirmed at least one positive case. Apart from Fayette County in northwest Alabama, all other remaining counties were located in the rural Black Belt and Wiregrass regions of the state.

The state health department has yet to release ages of victims or concrete hospitalization numbers, though some hospitals around the state have begun issuing their own.

In Jefferson County, the state's largest hot spot, at least 55 people were hospitalized as of Friday night, according to UAB Hospital. More than half of its patients were on ventilators to help them breathe as of Wednesday, UAB said.

In Montgomery, Baptist Health said it had treated eight total patients for coronavirus but six of those have since been released.

A data analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation found Alabama ranks among the top six most at-risk states for its adult population. The analysis determined 46 percent of Alabama adults are considered “high-risk” adults, due either to their age or chronic health issues such as diabetes or high blood pressure.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Melissa Brown at 334-240-0132 or mabrown@gannett.com.