Abstract
Background: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to over 1.2 million deaths in the United States. Given the staggering scale of the pandemic, rural hospitals faced heightened challenges due to limited resource availability and underlying patient characteristics.
Methods: In this context, we examined patient and hospital-related factors associated with inpatient mortality due to COVID-19. This study is a retrospective chart review of patient outcomes of patients who were hospitalized in a Southwest Georgia rural hospital with COVID-19 during the initial onset of the outbreak and over the following 23 months of the pandemic. Patient demographics, other characteristics, laboratory and imaging findings, and interventions were examined. The study population included 695 patients, of whom 602 survived and 93 died.
Results: We found that the length of stay (p
Conclusion: The availability of critical treatment modalities and data on patient characteristics of the local population are mortality predictors in this rural hospital. These findings inform policy on capacity building for preparedness for future pandemics for rural hospitals across the United States and the value that rural hospitals serve to their communities.
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Recommended Citation
Smith, Susan P.; Dayama, Neeraj; House, Morgan E.; Flores, Debra; Hunt, Sharon; Dukes, April; and Gautney, Steven
(2026)
"Rural Georgia Hospital COVID-19 Virus Patient Outcomes,"
Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association: Vol. 11:
No.
1, Article 11.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/jgpha/vol11/iss1/11
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