SW New Hampshire News

Cheshire Medical Center issued the following announcement on November 19.

Due to an increase in COVID-19 positive patients at the hospital, staffing levels, and bed constraints, Cheshire Medical Center, a Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health affiliate, will be postponing elective surgeries that require hospital inpatient admission after surgery. Ambulatory/same-day surgeries that do not require hospital admission, and all urgent and emergent surgeries, will continue. Hospital officials are evaluating this situation daily and urging individuals to get vaccinated if they haven’t already.

Based on current numbers and predictive modeling trends, the current challenges may worsen. All hospitals in New Hampshire and New England are experiencing these same capacity challenges in inpatient volumes and staffing, impacting transferring patients to other hospitals. Hospitals rely on the ability to transfer patients to treat different levels of care based on a patient’s needs

According to an NBC News analysis, Vermont and New Hampshire have seen two of the largest increases of COVID in the U.S. in the past two weeks, respectively rising by 60 percent and 56 percent. In an article published on Nov. 15, Cheshire Medical Center's Aalok Khole, MD, discusses the rise in COVID cases in Vermont and New Hampshire among the unvaccinated population. 

COVID-19 vaccination

Anyone eligible for a first or second dose or a booster shot, please visit vaccines.gov to find a vaccination location nearby or call 1-800-232-0233. Most pharmacies, such as CVS and Walgreens, are providing booster shots.

Pediatric and adult booster shots for eligible Cheshire patients can be scheduled using myD-H at upcoming morning clinics on the following Saturdays:

• November 20
• December 4
• December 11

Appointments are required. Learn more at cheshiremed.org/vaccine.

Misconceptions and false rumors about COVID-19 and vaccinations are common. Stay alert, ask good questions, and check the facts. Therefore, we need to take proven safety measures more seriously than ever. We now know what works:

• Vaccinations not only reduce infection but significantly reduce an infected person's likelihood of being hospitalized or dying.
• Wearing a well-fitting mask in public places or with those at high risk reduces infection from people who don't have symptoms yet.
• Good ventilation and social distancing, such as spending time with friends outside, are proven to reduce the transmission of the virus through the air.
• Washing your hands thoroughly and often reduces transmission of this virus and others.
• Staying home and isolated if you are sick is imperative to preventing community transmission.

For more information

• COVID-19 vaccine FAQ from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health
• Pediatric vaccine FAQ from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health
• Vaccination in the Mondanock Region
• COVID-19 delta variant
• COVID-19 testing at Cheshire Medical Center
• COVID-19 exposure and symptoms

Original source can be found here.