By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Paris, Tenn.—A dire picture of the COVID-19 situation in Henry County was presented by members of the local medical community at Thursday evening’s Henry County Schools board of education meeting.
Appearing at the meeting was Henry County Medical Center (HCMC) Board of Trustees Chair Dr. Scott Whitby, who was spokesman for the group; along with Hospital CEO Lisa Casteel, Dr. Randall Minor; Dr. Christy Minor, Dr. Stephanie Dunagan, and Board Member Kreg Kyle (who also is a Henry County Commissioner). County Commissioner Marty Visser also was in attendance.
Projecting the State Department of Health statistics and Epi Curves for Henry County on a screen, Dr. Whitby said based on the data, “There is an 87 percent chance someone in this room will have COVID and that’s the worst Russian roulette you can have. I don’t feel good about there we are.”
He cited daily text messages between himself and Casteel which demonstrate the spike in positive COVID-19 cases in Henry County in recent days and weeks.
“COVID is 30 times more contagious than the flu and it has destroyed our ability to deliver health care in Henry County,” Dr. Whitby said.
Looking at the State Department of Health website, Dr. Whitby noted there are 18 new cases reported in Henry County today “and the cases are always underestimated, they’re always behind, and I know that there are more cases than that just from my office today.” (According to the State Department of Health, Henry County has 189 active cases and 13 deaths.)
Dr. Whitby said, “You’re going to be hearing of people dying over the next few days; there is no doubt about that and the less gatherings we have in the county, the better.”
He noted that it takes from four to 14 days for people to start showing COVID symptoms after they are exposed.
Bed space at HCMC and area hospitals are limited due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, he said, noting that more and more patients are on ventilators. “That means they’re on life support,” he said, “just so we’re clear.”
HCMC has four pregnant patients with COVID right now and there aren’t always enough beds for patients at the local and area hospitals, he said. “HCMC is competing with hospitals in the area” for bed space and some patients are ‘boarding in the ER.”
Dr. Whitby said, “There has got to be a lot of personal responsibility being taken that’s not being taken right now. Masks. Washing your hands. Staying away from people. That’s how it spreads—from one person to another. The less gatherings right now the better.”
Henry County Schools this week transitioned to the orange phase and Director of Schools Dr. Leah Watkins said, “We have 19 staff members who have tested positive and that’s what has pushed us into the orange phase. We have 27 contacts with those staff members and they are at home (in quarantine) so when you add all that up, that’s a significant number of staff who are not at school.”
Board Member Junior Staggs asked what the school system can do. He asked whether the county mask mandate can be enforced by the school at school functions and asked, “What can we do as a system to help kids through this stress because it’s mentally draining on them.”
Dr. Watkins said, “I’d like to see more masks in place at our gatherings; that definitely is a challenge we’re all facing”. Board Member Josh Frey—who is Sheriff-Elect following the Nov. 3 election—said law enforcement cannot enforce the mask mandate “because there is nothing in the law that allows us to do so. There’s no criminal activity there.”
In response to Staggs’ concerns, Dr. Susan Burton said the school is addressing the mental stress on the students with activities, online contacts and even contacts with the Carey Counseling Center.
Kreg Kyle said, “I think the schools are doing a good and if we all continue to work together as a community, I think we can do the best we can.”
COVID-19 “is affecting 100 percent of our community,” Dr. Watkins said. “Our team is constantly doing contact tracing just to keep our schools open. It breaks my heart in two that we cannot have every kid on campus right now but we just can’t do it right now. This community is in crisis and we have to take it seriously.”
Dr. Watkins noted that the local members of the medical community “are exhausted right now” and audience members in attendance at the meeting applauded them.
In other business:
–The board passed a resolution honoring Dr. Watkins on the job she had done guiding the system through the COVID-19 crisis. She was presented with gifts from staff members and the Kids’ Corner at Henry.
–The board accepted the resignation of Josh Frey, who said he thought he would be on the board longer than two years, “but I had the opportunity to chase my dream of becoming sheriff.” He said he was resigning with a heavy heart. Frey will be sworn in as sheriff Nov. 23.
Top photo: Dr. Whitby addresses the board; Josh Frey, left, is presented with a plaque of appreciation from Board Vice Chair Jim McCampbell; McCampbell presents Dr. Watkins with gifts of appreciation. (Photos by Susan Burton).