As of Friday, August 27, Banner Churchill Community Hospital was overcapacity and staff there said they are working hard to care for the community. “I feel it would be helpful for the community to know how we are being impacted by the recent surge,” said Rob Carnahan, Chief Executive Officer at Banner in Fallon.
According to Carnahan, “This week we have averaged 14 hospitalized COVID patients per day when last week that number was averaging around three or four. As a critical access hospital, our normal capacity is 25 patients…we are averaging 30 per day over the past few days and have been as high as 34 patients. If we need to send patients to other larger hospitals in Nevada, we are finding they, too, are at capacity.”
Like most hospitals across the country, Banner Churchill is very busy. This includes COVID and non-COVID patients. Across the Banner system, 93 percent of hospitalized COVID patients are unvaccinated. Banner said in the media release that they strongly encourage people to get vaccinated right away. “The Pfizer vaccine is FDA approved and each of the vaccines is safe and effective,” according to the media release.
“We strongly encourage folks to get vaccinated right away,” said Carnahan. “The Pfizer vaccine is FDA approved and each of the vaccines is safe and effective. The more critically ill COVID patients we have, the less capacity we have for non-COVID emergencies, such as heart attacks, vehicle accidents, etc.”
Headquartered in Arizona, Banner Health is one of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the country. The system owns and operates 30 acute-care hospitals in six states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wyoming.
Local Statistics for COVID Cases
As of today, Monday, August 30, the 14-day moving average of COVID-19 cases is 11 new daily cases. There has been a total of 2,431 positive cases diagnosed in Churchill County since March of 2020.
The test positivity rate is at 10.2%, with 31,322 total tests having been given.
With 9,032 total vaccinations reported as completed, and a total of 18,014 doses reported as administrated, the county is showing 41.28% of the population 12 years and older has been vaccinated.
There has been a total of 49 deaths attributed to the virus.
County Vaccine Schedule
Churchill County’s COVID vaccine and testing schedule for September has been posted online and can be found below. Due to shortages in Nevada, the county will not be offering rapid COVID tests this month. County will offer PCR tests which take a few days to get results back from the state.
No COVID services will be offered Fridays through Sundays or on Labor Day, Sept. 6. No appointments are needed for any COVID services at any location.
Those 18 and older may receive the free Moderna, Pfizer or Janssen vaccine and those ages 12-17 will receive the Pfizer vaccine.
September schedule:
- Mondays (Sept. 13, 20, 27) – Testing at Miner’s Road Public Health Site from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Vaccines at Pennington Life Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Tuesday, Sept. 7 – Testing and vaccines at Miner’s Road Public Health Site from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Tuesdays, Sept. 14, 21, 28 – Testing and vaccines at Miner’s Road Public Health Site from 10 a.m. 6 p.m.
- Wednesdays (Sept. 8, 15, 22, 29) – Testing and vaccines at Miner’s Road Public Health Site from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and vaccines only at Pennington Life Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Thursdays (Sept. 9, 16, 23) – Testing and vaccines at Miner’s Road Public Health Site from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and vaccines only at Pennington Life Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Thursday, Sept. 30 – Testing and vaccines at Miner’s Road Public Health Site from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and vaccines only at Pennington Life Center from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Miner’s Road Public Health Site is located at 485 Miner’s Road off if Highway 95 south in Fallon. The Pennington Life Center is located at 952 S. Maine Street in Fallon.
Please bring a photo ID. Minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Third Doses
Churchill County now offers a third dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to those who self-report as being immunocompromised at any of its regularly-scheduled vaccine events (see September schedule above).
Those who want the third dose should match the dose type used with their primary vaccine series (if you got Pfizer earlier in the year, ask for Pfizer for the third dose) and wait 28 days after their second dose to be eligible for their third vaccine.
The third dose is only available for those who received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines at this time. Please bring your vaccination card with you if wanting a third dose. If you can’t find your card, you may download it from WebIZ.
Forms
Please print and fill out the “COVID-19 Questionnaire” and “Pre-Vaccination Checklist” forms and bring them with you to the vaccine site. The forms will also be available at the vaccine site.
If you or someone you know is homebound, or cannot access the vaccine site for whatever reason, please call (775)423-6695, option 2 to discuss alternative options.
For more information, visit bannerhealth.com or https://www.churchillcountynv.gov/816/COVID-19-INFO. The State Dashboard is available at https://nvhealthresponse.nv.gov/
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