Pandemic creating challenges in local health care

By Phil Major
publisher@wood.cm
Posted 9/16/21

Calling it a crisis and scary times, UT Health Quitman Hospital CEO Jared Smith again briefed the Mineola City Council last week on the situation during the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, fueled by …

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Pandemic creating challenges in local health care

Posted

Calling it a crisis and scary times, UT Health Quitman Hospital CEO Jared Smith again briefed the Mineola City Council last week on the situation during the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, fueled by the Delta variant.

Positivity rates, which had dipped, are running in the 40 to 50% range, he said, and are including many children. It can still attack those who are healthy and younger, he said.

The latest outbreak in the year-and-a-half long pandemic has resulted in a mass nursing shortage, he explained.

It is a combination of those retiring early following the last wave, those who went into other areas of the medical field and those who left the field all together.

Some who stayed in nursing left for other regions where the pay is higher.

He went into detail about what hospital groups are having to do to try to retain nurses.

Smith requested that the city consider using part of its American Rescue Plan federal funds to help the hospital group address the financial fallout of having to pay higher rates to try to keep and attract nurses.

The hospital has 200 open positions throughout its East Texas system, and Smith said the Christus Trinity Mother Frances group is seeing similar shortages.

The impact on finances has been $10.5 million in Wood County and $52 million throughout the system, he said.

He will be making the request to other cities and the county, he explained.

The outbreak has also seen an impact on the UT Health emergency medical service, which is making record numbers of calls due to COVID-19 patients.

There have been plenty of days when there have been no acute care beds available anywhere in Texas, he added.

The spike in cases, which surpassed the spike from earlier in the year, is holding at higher levels.