Hospitals grapple with Covid-19 challenges

Over 400 signed up for the Covid-19 vaccine clinic held at the Manila Depot Center this week. The clinic was open Monday and Tuesday and will reopen on Friday. Immunizations are given by appointments. Pharmacist Jeremy Jackson (pictured) said people are excited to be able to get the vaccine and he is excited and honored to be a part of the solution. He said they will be giving shots at the Manila School District for teachers and employees on Wednesday. For more information or to sign up contact participating pharmacies. Area pharmacies participating include Delta Drug in Manila, Rose Pharmacy in Blytheville, Southern Pharmacy in Leachville, and McFarlin Pharmacy in Monette along with Southern Pharmacy in Craighead County and Poinsett County.

Mississippi County Hospital System CEO Chris Raymer said, like most healthcare facilities, the hospital has faced challenges with staffing and transportation during the Covid-19 pandemic.

During his report to the MCHS board Monday, Raymer said since the onset of the pandemic, there have been 40 employees miss time with Covid-19, and the hospital has admitted 472 patients who were positive.

He said hospitals in the region are finding they have beds for Covid, but are challenged to treat other ailments.

The governor has asked all hospitals to increase their ICU capacity by 10 percent; ICU beds are at 95 percent capacity statewide, according to Raymer.

“Most facilities in the region have a staffing problem, so they’ve decreased some of their bed capacity because they don’t have enough nurses,” Raymer said.

He noted there is a regional tracking board manned by St. Bernards, which contacts each hospital in the region daily for reports on how many beds they have available.

Raymer said this eliminates the need for hospitals to individually call other facilities to ask if they have space.

Transporting patients to another facility has also been an issue.

“It’s a struggle every day to get transportation,” Raymer said. “Sometimes you’ve got to wait overnight. The other night, we had a patient accepted at UAMS and we had to wait until the next day to (send) them there because there wasn’t an ambulance available because of the multiple transfers that are happening right now in increased Covid hospitalizations.”

MCHS is treating Covid-19 patients with an infusion — Bamlanivimab — for those who qualify, i.e. 65 or older, having certain health conditions, etc.

The research so far shows that for certain people, taking this drug may help limit the amount of virus in the body. This may help their symptoms improve sooner — and they may be less likely to need to go to the hospital.

The local hospitals have seen fewer emergency room visits, but more inpatient volume during the pandemic, according to Raymer.

Vaccines have made their way to MCHS.

Raymer said between Great River Medical Center and SMC, 80 staff members have received both doses of the vaccine.

He hopes to offer more vaccinations in the coming days.

“The more people we can get vaccinated, the better we’ll be,” Raymer said. “We’re making a push this week to get our employees who haven’t gotten it (vaccinated). We’ve only gotten 80 doses total for the 360-something employees that we have.”

In other news, the board approved the community health needs assessment.

Raymer said MCHS plans social media education on topics such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and health and wellness.

He also spoke about plans to grow the cancer center and convert clinics to rural healthcare clinics.

Raymer introduced Great River Women’s Clinic nurse practitioner Paige Vaughn, APRN who will be working with OB/GYN physicians Dr. Anthony Daniels and Dr. Ronnie Dennis.

Meanwhile, Raymer reported he has been re-elected to the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce.

Also, the board learned that SMC has qualified for the Payroll Protection Program.

CFO Randy Nichols offered the financial report, which was accepted by the board.