“The delta variant has burned through us with a ferocity that’s hard to describe,” Lifferth wrote. “6 weeks ago there were 200 Covid patients in hospitals in Tennessee. Today there are 2000. A 1000% increase. In 6 weeks. It has overwhelmed tired doctors, nurses and healthcare systems that were already stretched thin.”

Just 35% of residents in Sumner County are fully vaccinated compared with 40% statewide, according to state health data. Nationwide, 50.4% are fully vaccinated as of Thursday, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The vaccines? They’re good,” Lifferth wrote. “No, they’re not perfect. And yes, we are seeing more breakthrough infections with the Delta variant. But there’s a reason 96% of physicians got it — the risk/benefit analysis overwhelmingly favors the vaccines. Get one.”

SRMC has a total of 182 inpatient beds, according to information last reported to the US Department of Health and Human Services at the end of July.

More than 1,000 employees and 300 physicians work at the hospital, located about 30 miles northeast of Nashville, according to the facility’s website.

The hospital shared a Facebook post from Chief Medical Officer Geoff Lifferth who said this past week has been one of the most exhausting and disheartening of his career. https://www.facebook.com/SumnerRegionalMedicalCenter/