Statement from Washington Regional COO Birch G. Wright Regarding Washington Regional Implementation of COVID-19 Surge Plan
As is the case with most areas of the nation, Northwest Arkansas is experiencing an increase in COVID-19 cases and
inpatient hospitalizations. Washington Regional Medical Center currently has the capacity to treat both COVID and
non-COVID patients. As with any prudent hospital system, we continually monitor hospitalization trends and
community infection prevalence, and develop contingency plans to ensure that we are prepared for surges in demand
for our services. We are concerned about the next two to four weeks. If cases continue to rise at the current rate, we
will increasingly be challenged to meet the needs of our community. We are experiencing a notable increase in
demand for inpatient services following the Thanksgiving holiday. This is similar to the surge we saw following
previous holidays, such as the 4th of July and Labor Day. We urge the community to be mindful of this fact as we
head toward the Christmas season, New Year’s and as colder weather forces people indoors. Holiday gatherings and
in-person events of more than 10 people significantly increase the likelihood of transmission of the virus and will likely
further stress the area’s health care systems.
As is the case with many larger hospital systems in our state, Washington Regional Medical Center has the ability to
expand its capacity where community demand dictates a need for additional resources. The challenge with expanding
bed capacity is that it further requires the ability to expand or redirect existing nursing and physician staffing to cover
those additional beds. The intensity of staffing in critical care and COVID-19 units is much greater than the staffing
needs of a typical medical surgical unit.
In anticipation of the potential for an increase in demand for hospital services, effective December 11, Washington
Regional will operationalize the next phase of its COVID-19 surge plan. This phase of our surge plan will allow us to
schedule additional human resources by shifting some members of our staff to assist in areas of most critical need.
To maximize our nursing and related personnel we must necessarily review our non-urgent surgery schedules and
outpatient clinic appointments. Should this impact existing patient appointments, procedures or cases, patients will
personally be contacted.
To keep our hospitals from becoming overwhelmed, we ask the community to follow the simple public health
measures that have been recommended and stressed since spring: wear a mask, wash your hands, watch your
distance and avoid large gatherings, especially as we head into the Christmas and New Year’s holiday season.