COVID-19 has hit the highest levels of Spectrum Health Lakeland. Hospital president Dr. Loren Hamel says his twin brother, chief operating officer Dr. Lowell Hamel, tested positive last week after not feeling well for most of the week.
“He’s now in our COVID unit,” says Dr. Hamel. “He has appropriately stayed home, so he’s not exposing anybody else, but he tested positive and is now in the hospital.”
Dr. Hamel adds in a video sent to hospital employees that they’ve completed their surge planning for the hospital system.
“That means we’re as ready as we can be, anticipating that we may have a lot more patients on the inpatient side over the next several weeks or even over the next few months.”
He says Spectrum Health Lakeland has discharged a number of people who were treated for COVID-19, and says they’re now recovering at home.
Dr. Hamel added the hospital took a big financial hit in March, with expenses being $7.6 million higher than revenues as the system has canceled all elective surgeries and procedures and has scaled back on appointments to put all its efforts toward fighting COVID-19.
