Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — LBJ Medical Center acting chief of staff, Dr. Akapusi Ledua has given assurance that the hospital has already made preparations if and when there is a surge in admissions to the medical center in the midst of the COVID-19 community spread.

Dr. Ledua made the statement during Monday’s virtual news conference, where he also said that the medical center has seen an increase in the number of patients treated for COVID-19 who have declined hospitalization, preferring to go home instead.

Lt. Gov. Talauega Eleasalo V. Ale said during the news conference that the number of positive cases has started to come down and that the government’s focus now on LBJ as it prepares to handle the expected surge of critical cases that will be coming into the hospital. (See yesterday’s Samoa News edition for details.)  The Health Department also shares the same view and it stands ready to assist the hospital.

“In terms of our preparations for the COVID [admissions] surge,” Dr. Ledua said, “we have prepared our infrastructure. As of now, we have 51 beds in the hospital to cater to any surge that might occur. Our average bed occupancy has been 28 to 30 at any one time.”

Besides the 51-beds already prepared, Dr. Ledua said the hospital’s Behavioral Health Unit, has another 10-beds and “we will be working in the next few days to try and prepare these beds to be ready, [elevating] our bed count number to 61 by the end of this week to prepare for any surge.”

For medical support personnel, he said the first group of 14-support staff arrived over the weekend from Washington state-based NuWest Staffing and the other members of the group are due to arrive tomorrow on the Hawaiian Airlines flight from Honolulu that will also bring in three LBJ physicians.

“I would like to assure the public, that at our hospital, we are ready to take care of any surge that we have [in admissions] in the next few days, with adequate space,” he said and noted that LBJ is working together with DoH and other local ASG agencies as well as its federal partners to prepare for any surge.

Dr. Ledua also said that as of Monday morning 27 COVID patients were hospitalized — three to the COVID ward and 24 admitted to the COVID cohort ward. He explained that there were three admissions within the previous 48 hours: two of them children, who were not eligible for vaccination and presented with mild symptoms of COVID and are doing well. The third admission was a 70-year old male who was fully vaccinated and was admitted for other medical problems, but because he tested positive, he was admitted and treated for both his original illness and COVID.

“One thing that we had seen and realized in the last 48 hours, was the number of patients who have been seen and treated, and were suppose to be admitted to the hospital but they signed out against medical advice,” he said and noted that three of those were last Saturday and one early Monday morning.

“This is important information to know because, COVID-19 can rapidly progress over 24-hours and when there is a need to be admitted, it is really important that patients follow the doctor’s advice, and be admitted because you may feel well, you may feel better after the initial treatment — but things can rapidly progress,” he explained.

“That is one of the things that we have seen and highlighted in the last 48 hours — the high number of patients that … signed out against medical advice” preferring to go home, he explained.

“And we have worked with their families to try and get them on a daily basis to report for treatment — for the treatment that they are supposed to receive for their COVID illness,” he added.

Dr. Ledua said LBJ expressed appreciation to local ASG agencies and especially “our federal partners” for their continued support.