Memorial Health prepared for potentially busy Labor Day weekend

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Memorial Hospital is getting ready for a busy weekend ahead of Labor Day. They’re concerned the emergency room will be packed with people who are not in their best condition after having too much to drink.

As some people are preparing for the holiday weekend, the Memorial Health staff is preparing in a different way. It’ll be all hands on deck here ready and anticipating a swarm of people impacted by alcohol.

“It’s of concern every holiday.”

Dr. Jay Goldstein at Memorial says their biggest worry is people, going boating, to the pool, or beach and getting intoxicated, especially while children are around.

“When you’re imbibing in alcohol and you’re not paying attention to the kids, we see a lot of accidents happen which is very concerning so we really if you children and you’re around a pool or any water please do not be drinking to any extent,” Dr. Goldstein said.

Dr. Goldstein also says he’s concerned about drunk drivers on the road. He says even if your alcohol level is below .08, it’s still not safe to drive.

“As a clinician, I don’t think drinking and driving is safe at all,” he said.

Savannah Police say they’ve made 174 DUI arrests so far this year. They made 357 arrests last year. In unincorporated Chatham County, 124 DUI citations have been given out this year by the Chatham County Police Department.

Dr. Goldstein says since the pandemic began, they’ve seen a concern increase in people coming to the emergency room sick or injured because of alcohol.

“Depression and toxicity in work environments and just the way the world has gone and we’ve seen a lot of burnout and I think from that you actually have the effect were people are turning to towards alcohol and drugs unfortunately and that’s created a lot of issues,” Dr. Goldstein said.

As COVID-19 protocols have been relaxed more and more, he’s hoping it will get better.

“I do think there’s a little bit of lag and now that we’re getting outside and having those social interactions. I do think you’ll start to see the uptick in the improvement and betterment of people’s mentality,” Dr. Goldstein said.

And the improvement of safety for everyone.

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