Dear Citizens of Haywood County

Dear citizens of Haywood County:

The current COVID-19 situation in our community is serious. Over the past three weeks, our hospital has experienced a surge of COVID-19 positive patients, and like our neighboring hospitals and health systems, we are operating at the edge of our capacity. This heartbreaking reality is taking an extreme toll on our physicians, nurses, and other frontline staff. We need your help to curb the spread of this virus by getting a COVID-19 vaccine if you have not already done so.

At Haywood Regional Medical Center, we have recently implemented stricter visitor protocols for the safety of our patients and team. While the status of COVID-19 patients is fluid and changes daily, currently at least 33% of our inpatients are positive for COVID-19, and the majority of those are unvaccinated.

Our community’s low vaccination rate is putting a burden on our local healthcare system. In addition to managing the rapid increase of COVID-19 patients, we continue to care for the ongoing, non-COVID-19 healthcare needs of our community. With another flu season on the horizon, I am concerned for my team and community because the current environment is unsustainable.

If you have already been vaccinated, thank you for doing your part. Not only is the COVID-19 vaccine safe and effective at reducing the likelihood of contracting the virus, being hospitalized, or dying, it has now received full approval from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). With the FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine for individuals 16 years of age and older, we expect the approval of other vaccines will soon follow.

If you are still on the fence about getting vaccinated, I encourage you to discuss your hesitation with your physician or another member of the medical community. Most of our physicians are vaccinated because they know the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, and because they support their use. Each vaccine administered is a potential bed saved for someone having a heart attack, stroke or other medical emergency. We have seen firsthand how vaccines protect against this virus and share in the burden COVID-19 has placed on our community which is why we encourage you to be a part of the solution.

Additionally, we strongly encourage our community to take other precautions that we know are effective in slowing the spread of the virus, including wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, and continuing proper hand hygiene. When ALL of these measures are consistently practiced, they will help lower the transmission rate and reduce the number of COVID-19 cases in our community.

Even in the midst of this public health emergency, we strongly urge our community not to delay essential and emergency care. If you are experiencing an emergency, call 9-1-1 or head to the nearest ER. You may experience longer wait times, but you will be seen. If your condition is less severe and not life-threatening, please consider seeking care and treatment at an urgent care clinic or your primary care provider’s office so the ER staff can focus on the most critical needs.

Vaccines are offered at many locations throughout our community. Please visit MySpot.NC.gov to find a vaccine near you.

On behalf of our team of healthcare heroes at Haywood Regional Medical Center, I urge our community to act now and get vaccinated against COVID-19. We need you, just like you need us. Please sign up to be vaccinated today, and don’t let yourself or someone you love be the next victim of COVID-19.

Sincerely,

Greg Caples
CEO, Haywood Regional Medical Center