Ambulances Turned Away At Wellstar Cobb, Kennestone Hospitals

COBB COUNTY, GA — Wellstar Cobb and Kennestone hospitals' emergency departments are "severely overcrowded" and are both turning away intensive care ambulance traffic as Cobb County's COVID-19 case numbers are what public health officials consider high risk for COVID-19 transmission.

According to the Georgia Coordinating Center (GCC) website, which tracks hospital activity to guide ambulance services across the state, Wellstar Cobb Hospital's ICU/CCU units — as well as its psych unit — can no longer accept incoming ambulance traffic. Wellstar Kennestone Hospital's ICU/CCU units are in the same position.

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.

Wellstar's intensive care unit — sometimes called critical care unit — deals with patients who have or are recovering from conditions that may be life-threatening or patients who are on life support, according to the Wellstar website.

The ICU is where patients stay after major surgery, traumatic injury or for patients who require advanced monitoring and supervision. Essentially, any new patients with life-threatening injuries will likely be turned away if they're taken to Wellstar Cobb or Wellstar Kennestone — both of which are at visitation level red, meaning no visitors are allowed in either hospital.

Last week, Cobb & Douglas Public Health Director Dr. Janet Memark said more than 93 percent of patients filling hospitals are not vaccinated against COVID-19.

"If you look throughout the country, where you see higher rates of vaccination, you see lower rates of hospitalization," Memark said in an interview with Douglas County spokesperson Rick Martin.

For information on where to be tested for or vaccinated against COVID-19 in Cobb County, visit the Cobb & Douglas Public Health website.

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

Patch Editor Jim Massara contributed to this report.