Prisma response to a South Carolina “hot spot”

Kershaw County unexpectedly became an early South Carolina’s hotspot for COVID-19 cases. KershawHealth hospital in Camden experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases in March, and Prisma Health transferred five ventilators to the Camden facility. The ventilators were rapidly put into service for critical patients who needed breathing support as they fought COVID-19.

“We are proud to serve as a regional partner to help ensure that critical needs are being addressed and resources are shared wherever possible. There are quite a few models of ventilators and in our larger healthcare system we were able to locate the exact models of ventilators that KershawHealth’s critical care teams were already trained to use,” said Dr. Stephen Shelton, who serves as Prisma Health–Midlands Incident Commander for the COVID-19 crisis response.

The five ventilators were located at Prisma Health Tuomey Hospital in Sumter. All five units have now been in active use for a month in Camden providing lifesaving support and will be returned to Tuomey Hospital when KershawHealth no longer needs them.

In addition, Prisma Health was able to provide KershawHealth a supply of personal protective equipment and COVID-19 testing kits until more arrived. This assistance helped KershawHealth respond quickly to its initial surge of patients and provided the time they needed to locate and purchase scarce supplies as they continued to ramp up their ongoing COVID-19 response.