(WATCH) Health officials fight burnout as COVID deaths rise in Natrona County

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Dr Mark Dowell, Natrona County Health Officer and Rocky Mountain Infectious Diseases (Facebook) Infectious Disease Specialist Right: Health workers at the Wyoming Medical Center Respiratory Screening Clinic greet first responders from several Natrona County agencies in a brief parade around the WMC campus on Wednesday morning in Casper. The parade was held to show the appreciation of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 outbreak. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)

CASPER, Wyo. – The recent explosion of COVID-19 infections and deaths in Wyoming and Natrona County is straining medical resources, shutting down businesses and leading to “burnout” and disillusion among health workers, a health official said on Friday.

There were 51 patients actively infected with COVID-19 and isolated at Wyoming Medical Center on Thursday, Dr Mark Dowell, Natrona County health official and WMC infectious disease specialist, said in a statement live on the networks. social Friday morning September 17th.

Seven other patients had been released from isolation but were still hospitalized “with issues related to COVID,” he said. According to state health data, this is the highest number of COVID patients seen at the WMC since December 3, 2020.

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“What is really difficult is that almost all [of it] could be avoided. Almost none of these people have been vaccinated, and it’s just a heartbreaking weight. “

Only 37% of Wyoming is fully vaccinated, Dowell said.

“I’ve looked well north of 20 people over the past few weeks, and none of them needed to die,” Dowell said.

Dowell said medical professionals, including himself, felt mental and emotional exhaustion and disillusionment with the protracted health crisis and persistent misinformation.

“People try not to get cynical [or] give up… because we are in medicine to help people and keep them healthy and recovering.

With intensive care beds filling with COVID-19 patients, other critical and elective procedures must be postponed.

“We have cancer patients who cannot have surgery because we have no place to house them,” said Dowell. “We have patients in the [emergency room] forever without having a bed to go.

Dowell added that some businesses in the city had to close (“temporarily, but nonetheless”) due to the outbreak, and that there were more than 500 students infected in the first two weeks after schools opened. .

“This is not good,” said Dowell, urging the state’s people to change their “mindset” to recognize the impact of the crisis on neighbors, families, businesses and the economy .

“What I’ve always heard about Wyoming is how people stepped in when needed and how much we are there for each other. Yet we have something that will keep these people from dying… ”

“Enough conspiracy, enough excuses; get down there and do the right thing for our condition. I’m burning with it. I watch people die and it hurts my soul, ”he said.

The Wyoming Department of Health provides data online on COVID-19 cases, variants, deaths, tests, hospitals and vaccines. The ministry also shares information on how the data can be interpreted. COVID-19 safety recommendations are available from the CDC.

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