Bryan Medical Center: We're Frustrated with Virus Resurgence

July 28, 2021, 4 p.m. ·

Dr. John Trapp at a press briefing in Lincoln
Bryan Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Trapp. (Photo from Zoom)

Listen To This Story

Officials at Bryan Medical Center in Lincoln say they’re frustrated by a resurgence of coronavirus in the Lincoln area and have had to re-open their COVID treatment department.

Bryan Medical Center is currently treating 25 COVID-positive patients and an additional seven patients who are in need of critical care but are no longer COVID positive. CEO John Woodrich says things have changed over the past few weeks.

“We had to open up a COVID unit again the other day, we hadn’t done that in a while,” Bryan Medical Center CEO John Woodrich said. “We actually got down to zero COVID patients in this facility about three or four weeks ago and you see this rise. We’re watching what’s happening in other communities where this outbreak occurs and quite honestly we’re ready for this but we shouldn’t be in this situation.”

Woodrich said COVID patients are skewing younger and almost 100% are unvaccinated, although there have been a few so-called “breakthrough” cases among older patients who had been vaccinated.

“We were asking for this vaccine back late last year, many of us begging for this vaccine,” Bryan Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Trapp said. “It’s now here. Those who have wanted the vaccine have been able to readily get it, but we still have a lot of people on the sidelines.”

Almost 85% of Bryan Medical Center employees have been vaccinated, although there is no requirement to be vaccinated so far. Officials say with school starting again soon, we could be in for an even bigger increase in cases over the next month or two.