Montana coronavirus: VA medical center has opened beds for ineligible patients to help relieve nearby hospitals during Covid-19 outbreak

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“With more hospital beds available, hospitals now have another tool in their toolbox to treat Montanais in need of care as their systems are strained,” Governor Greg Gianforte said on Friday in a statement.

The state has been given the nod from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to use open beds at the Fort Harrison Veterans Medical Center.

The beds will be used for both Covid-19 patients as well as non-Covid-19 patients who would otherwise not be eligible for treatment at a VA hospital, the governor’s office said.

“The Montana VA is ready to assist our community partners during this public health crisis,” said Executive Director Judy Hayman.

The increase in the number of Covid-19 patients has strained the staff and resources of some hospitals in Montana. Last week, emergency medicine staff at St. Peter’s Health in Helena, MT had to start rationing care as the hospital activated its crisis care standards protocol.

“We are at the point where all patients in need are not going to get the care we wish we could provide,” said Chief Medical Officer Dr Shelly Harkins. “In almost every way, we are in a much worse position than ever in the winter of 2020 on our first push. ”

Montana is on a devastating trajectory in terms of Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations, exacerbated by a significant number of residents at higher risk of becoming seriously ill from the virus because they are not vaccinated. About 52% of its eligible population are fully immunized, according to state data.
Over the past week, the state recorded 608.8 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people, with a positivity rate between 15 and 19.9%, making it one of the five states with the highest case rate on Friday, according to the latest federal health data. . The other four states are neighboring Wyoming as well as Kentucky, West Virginia and Alaska.
As Covid-19 hospitalizations increase, some overwhelmed hospitals are rationing care

Regarding hospitalizations related to Covid-19, Montana is again one of the hardest hit in the country.

The state uses 46% of its adult intensive care unit beds to treat patients battling the virus, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services, joining a handful others with rates above 40%.

“People in intensive care are so seriously ill that a nurse literally devotes herself to the bedside to keep you alive every second,” Harkins said. “You’re terrified. You don’t have a loved one who can come and see you. And no one around you – not a doctor, not a nurse or whatever – can tell you whether or not you’ll get there.”

And while the additional beds at the VA Medical Center are important instruments in responding to the influx of Covid-19 patients, Gianforte has urged his residents to get vaccinated.

“The best solution to this crisis remains for the Montanians to speak with their doctor or pharmacist and get vaccinated against Covid-19. We will not impose vaccination in Montana, but these vaccines are safe, they work and they can save you. life, ”he said. .

CNN’s Andy Rose contributed to this report.

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