No, Not Everyone Is Dying In Local Hospitals: Atlantic Health

NORTH JERSEY - It paints a stark and breathtaking account of daily conditions inside an Atlantic Health Hospital in North Jersey. The only problem, according to officials, is that the story being circulated by someone calling themselves a doctor in the Atlantic Health System isn't true.

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Posts by media groups and people claiming to have received permission, repurposed for various social media posts, the account supposedly given by a doctor has taken off like wildfire and has described sobering conditions inside the walls of the treatment centers in Atlantic Health. It even went as far as to say "everyone is dying."

Over the last week, the post appeared across various Facebook subgroups and personal pages with a variety of framing texts. Some claimed it was from a relative, some claimed it was from a friend while others claimed it came from a trusted doctor they knew.

But while a spokesperson for Atlantic Health, which operates the Morristown Medical Center, Overlook Medical Center, Newton Medical Center, Chilton Medical Center and Hackettstown Medical Center, said that they understand why something like this might be written, the veracity of the account needs to be called into question.

"These are difficult times for caregivers, patients and families across our state, including our Atlantic Health System family," Atlantic Health officials said in a statement. "While no one should be criticized for how they feel during this time or the need they feel to share their emotions with friends and family, this letter contains factual inaccuracies and is not a fair representation of what is happening in our hospitals."

Officials took issue with the specifics used to describe the conditions.

"The characterization in this social media post that 'everyone is dying,' is patently false. In fact, we have discharged more than 1,500 COVID-19-positive patients from across our system," a spokesperson for Atlantic Health told Patch. "The claim of the infection rate amongst nursing staff at Overlook Medical Center is also flat out wrong."

Atlantic Health officials said that at publication time, the rate of infection throughout their system, and Overlook in particular has been extremely low, thanks to the high level of precaution taken to protect team members and patients.

Atlantic Health officials said they recognized there can be no doubt that the strain on team members caused by COVID-19 has been unlike "anything we have seen in our lifetimes," but the extraordinary care teams are providing every day is making a tremendous difference in the lives of patients and communities.

Atlantic Health officials also noted that to help team members cope with the tremendous burden of this difficult time, Atlantic Health System offers an array of services for both physical and emotional well-being, including a team member support hotline.

Patch is interested in telling stories of those fighting on the front lines of the new coronavirus pandemic. Anyone willing to share their stories should reach out to russ.crespolini@patch.com.

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