'Overwhelming' Number Of Patients In Southwest General ER

MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, OH — An "overwhelming" number of patients are flooding Southwest General's emergency rooms in Middleburg Heights and Brunswick, the hospital system announced Wednesday.

To preserve space and provide for sick patients, the hospital system is asking the following:

• Do not go to the emergency room if you are looking for a COVID-19 test. Patients will not receive a COVID-19 test unless they are admitted to the hospital. Instead, look for COVID-19 tests at pharmacies, libraries and other spots in the community.
• Do not go to the emergency room for minor conditions. If you need medical attention but it's not urgent, go to your family physician or an urgent care facility.
• If you're worried you have COVID-19, self-quarantine and talk to your family doctor.
• Practice commonsense safety measures, like washing your hands, wearing a mask in public and maintaining your social distance. "Most importantly, get vaccinated and boosted," Southwest General said.

On Wednesday, the Ohio Department of Health confirmed a record-breaking 12,864 new cases of COVID-19 among Ohioans and nearly 500 hospitalizations. Forty-one COVID-19-positive Ohioans were admitted to intensive care units in that same 24 hour period.

The Ohio National Guard opened a free COVID-19 testing site in Cleveland on Tuesday but were quickly overwhelmed by demand. The site began turning cars away after only two hours on Tuesday. The site is now only open to patients who previously registered for a test, News 5 reported.

Northern Ohio hospitals have issued repeated pleas for residents to get vaccinated, to wear masks in public and to avoid large crowds. They've also urged patients to stop seeking COVID-19 tests in overcrowded emergency rooms.