South Dakota’s 3 major healthcare facilities– Avera McKennan, Sanford USD Medical Center, and Monolith Health Rapid City Health center– are apparently struggling to discover area for their seriously ill COVID-19 clients.
Robert J. Sliper, a COVID-19 patient and South Dakota resident, was transferred to Colorado– over 340 miles away from his home– in November after local hospitals declared they didn’t have the space to care for him, according to a report by the Rapid City Journal
Before the pandemic, many of South Dakota’s medical facilities were restricted as some rural citizens expected to travel a terrific range to reach the closest health center.
Image by KEREM YUCEL/AFP through Getty Images
The strategy included healthcare facilities doubling their ICU capacity by holding off some non-emergency surgical treatments, cross-training healthcare facility personnel to work with COVID-19 clients, and repurposing other areas into ICUs, Dr. David Basel, Avera’s vice president of scientific quality, informed the Journal
Most hospitals associated with Avera Health are “at, near or above” capacity to treat COVID-19 clients, stated Basel.
Monolith Health Rapid City Hospital likewise enacted plans to manage the infection’s surge. Under the strategy, the healthcare facility intends to add 6 more ICU beds. Those beds won’t likely be available up until July of next year, Dr. Srinivas K. Gangineni, ICU Medical Director at Monument Health Rapid City Medical facility, told the paper.
In the meantime, the hospital will divert patients to other healthcare facilities.
South Dakota reported an average of 98 brand-new everyday cases this previous week.
The seven-day average of cases in the state has decreased compared to the previous two-week duration from November 30 to December 3, according to data from John Hopkins University. However, the state saw record cases on November 11 after reporting over 1,458 brand-new ones that day.
” If cases were to double for another month or more, we would be making some hard choices,” stated Basel. “We have actually had reports that there are locations in Iowa where they are beginning to really take a look at whether it’s great to put people who are over 75 with COVID-19 on ventilators.”
” We’re not at that point, and I hope that we never ever get to any type of point like that. There may come a day,” Basel continued.
Meanwhile, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem buffooned President-elect Joe Biden‘s message assuring Americans having a hard time during the pandemic on Twitter last week. She tweeted an estimated expression, “‘ I’m from the government, and I’m here to help,” which President Ronald Reagan called “the nine most scary words in the English language” from a 1986 news conference.
Avera McKennan, Sanford USD Medical Center and Monolith Health Rapid City Medical facility didn’t react to Newsweek’s ask for comment in time for publication.
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