'Severely Overcrowded' Cartersville ER Turning Away Ambulances

CARTERSVILLE, GA — If you need to take an ambulance ride any time soon, it likely won’t be to Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center: As of Tuesday morning, its emergency room was unable to accept incoming traffic. That's according to the Georgia Coordinating Center (GCC) website, which tracks hospital activity to guide ambulance services.

At about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, the Cartersville hospital reported that its emergency room was “severely overcrowded” and in a state of "total diversion" — in other words, as of Tuesday, it's not accepting any emergency patients and instead is sending them elsewhere. The same goes for its intensive-care and critical-care units.

Hospitals in nearby Floyd County were faring somewhat better. According to the GCC website, Floyd Medical Center in Rome reported a “busy” emergency room as of about 11 a.m. Tuesday and was “saturated” but still accepting incoming ambulances. However, its intensive-care and critical-care units are turning away patients.

Redmond Regional Medical Center, also in Rome, reported an “overcrowded” emergency room and no diversions — but its most recent update to the site was made last Friday.

Unvaccinated Georgians sick with COVID-19 are creating much of the congestion at emergency rooms. Only about 40 percent of Georgians are vaccinated, while the national average is about 50 percent. At the same time, according to hospital executives as related by Gov. Brian Kemp at a Monday news conference, "more than 90 percent" of those currently hospitalized for COVID-19 are unvaccinated.

"This safe, effective vaccine reduces the likelihood that you will get infected by COVID-19," Kemp said to reporters on Monday. "But more importantly, it drastically will reduce the chances of you ending up in a hospital bed or losing your life."

The GCC was established in 2019 after flooding at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta severely damaged its emergency room, limiting its ability to accept ambulance traffic. GCC's website posts capacity information from Georgia hospitals, with the busiest facilities updating their status regularly.

For information on where to be tested for or vaccinated against COVID-19 in Bartow County, visit the website of the Northwest Health District of the Georgia Department of Public Health.

For a list of Georgia hospitals and their capacity to accept new or emergency patients, visit the Georgia Coordinating Center's website.

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