Rural Hospitals and the Rise of COVID-19
In this Nov. 24, 2020, file photo, marks are seen on the face of registered nurse Shelly Girardin as she removes a protective mask after performing rounds in a COVID-19 unit at Scotland County Hospital in Memphis, Mo. Across the U.S., the surge has swamped hospitals with patients and left nurses and other health care workers shorthanded and burned out. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Each of the state’s 11 regions are at over 70% capacity of available ICU beds. With America’s COVID-19 hotspots shifting to rural areas, where resources were already scarce, many smaller hospitals worry they’ll be overwhelmed by another surge in patients.
The 21st spoke to the National Rural Health Association, Memorial Hospital in Carthage and the Chief Nursing Office for Memorial Hospital to discuss "critical access" hospitals, current capacity limits and how healthcare workers are feeling right now as the consequences of Thanksgiving week travel starts to take place.
Guests:
Pat Schou, President for the National Rural Health Association and Executive Director at Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network
Ada Bair, CEO for Memorial Hospital in Carthage and a Registered Nurse
Raigan Brown, Chief Nursing Office for Memorial Hospital in Carthage
Prepared for web by Zainab Qureshi
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