Since early August, there’s been a significant increase in the number of ambulance calls for COVID-19 patients in Hopkinsville and Christian County.
“We have definitely seen an uptick,” said Payton Rogers, public information officer for the Hopkinsville Fire Department.
Christian County Emergency Medical Services, which is part of the fire department, answered 16 COVID-related calls for an ambulance during the week of Aug. 9. There were seven COVID-related calls the previous week, according to fire and ambulance activity reports HFD posts every Monday on its Facebook page.
For the 10 weeks between May 24 and Aug. 1, there were just 9 coronavirus-related calls total. Up until the recent increase, there were several weeks this summer when Christian County EMS did not have a single call to transport a COVID patient.
The recent trend seen at the ambulance service coincides with a surge of new COVID-19 cases reported by the Christian County Health Department and an increase in hospitalizations at Jennie Stuart Medical Center.
Rogers said the ambulance service has been able to keep up with the increase in local COVID-19 illnesses.
“We haven’t fallen short on our end on the service we provide,” he said.
Christian County EMS has five ambulances staffed around-the-clock. Four are based in Hopkinsville and one is in Oak Grove. They serve all areas of the city and county. The agency also has the ability to call in extra staff to run reserve ambulances, he said.
Rogers urged residents to be patient with emergency workers and health care staff during this surge in the pandemic.
“Everyone is kind of exhausted,” he said. “… I would just ask the community to be patient if they are in need of an ambulance for any reason.”
Jennie Stuart’s emergency room “runs a tight ship,” but the pandemic is overwhelming for everyone involved, he said.
Rogers said EMS crews use a halo device that fogs ambulances with disinfectant after every run with a COVID patient or anyone who is suspected to have COVID-19.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
