13th Maverick County Citizen Dies from COVID-19 and 18 New Positive Cases Announced as Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center Reaches Capacity
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2020
Not even the blistering 112 degrees Fahrenheit summer heat wave seems to abate the surging COVID-19 pandemic in Maverick County, Texas as a 13th local citizen succumbed to the deadly virus and 18 new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases were reported on Tuesday, July 14, 2020, by Maverick County Judge David R. Saucedo and Eagle Pass Mayor Luis E. Sifuentes at a press conference.
The COVID-19 virus has hit Maverick County so strong, particularly in the past three weeks, that the only hospital in the county, Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center, has advised County Judge Saucedo and Mayor Sifuentes on July 14 that it has reached its capacity threshold with an 80 percent capacity overall, requiring the community to seek contingency health care services from state and federal government agencies.
County Judge Saucedo stated that a total of 8,326 people in Maverick County have taken a COVID-19 test with 892 positive results, 6,752 negative results, 682 waiting for test results, 497 active cases, 382 recovered, 42 hospitalized, 13 deaths, and the positivity rate is at 11.7 percent as of July 14.
Saucedo noted that there are 42 Maverick County citizens hospitalized at Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center in Eagle Pass, including 10 patients in the Intensive Care Unit with all 10 of them on ventilators, 22 patients on the Medical Floor with 20 positive cases and two under investigation, nine in the Emergency Room with two positive and seven under investigation, and one patient in the Post-Partum Delivery Department.
Saucedo highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic in Maverick County is in “dire situation.”
Mayor Luis E. Sifuentes noted that the 13th person in Maverick County to pass away from COVID-19 was 65 years old. Sifuentes added that most persons who have passed away had underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and were on ventilators. Sifuentes pointed out that a majority of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in Maverick County are from family gatherings, requesting that local citizens avoid gatherings.
Sifuentes stated that County Judge Saucedo, Local Health Authority Dr. Victoriano Valdez, Eagle Pass Assistant Fire Chief Rodolfo Cardona, and him met with Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Eladio Montalvo, Alan Gonzalez, Deborah Meeks, and another gentleman on July 14 to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic in Maverick County and the community’s health care services. Sifuentes added that the Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center representatives advised them that they have reached their threshold limit with an 80 percent capacity and the community needed to seek additional health care services from state and federal government entities.
Contrary to most Maverick Countians belief that Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center is a publicly-owned hospital, Fort Duncan is a privately-owned, for-profit hospital owned by a subsidiary of Universal Health Services, Inc., a King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based company, that is one of the largest health care management company in the United States. It is the only medical center in Maverick County.
Saucedo stated that Maverick County and the City of Eagle Pass have submitted requests for assistance to the State of Texas for additional health care personnel and equipment through State Representative Poncho Nevarez’s office to meet the surging public health emergency being caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Saucedo noted that Maverick County received a team of five nurses from a medical disaster task force from the state last week to assist Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center with COVID-19 patients, but these five nurses left July 14. However, Saucedo added that a new team of 12 military medics from the state’s Region 8 medical task force arrived on July 13 to assist the local medical center with COVID-19 patients. The health care services situation in Maverick County is “dire,” according to Saucedo.
Sifuentes related a conversation he had with a local nurse at the local medical center and that she had stated all health care workers were working passionately and diligently to help all the COVID-19 patients, but that the COVID-19 pandemic is also affecting the mental health and morale of health care workers, particularly when their patients whom they have been treating pass away alone by themselves without any family members being present. Sifuentes added that this particular nurse looked “tired and exhausted” having to work long hours to help COVID-19 patients.
Sifuentes stated that all Maverick County citizens need to do the “little things” such as following the CDC Guidelines to stop or slow the community spread of COVID-19 pandemic in the community, including wearing a face mask in public, maintain social distancing of six feet, wash hands with soap regularly, use hand sanitizer regularly, limit travel to essential matters, avoid gatherings of 10 or more people, and stay at home.
Maverick Countians are anxiously awaiting to learn the details of Maverick County’s contingency plan for treating and handling the surge of COVID-19 patients in the community, particularly in light of Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center’s notice to local public officials that they have reached their threshold capacity to treat COVID-19 patients.
