ICU MOVEMENT

Stephen Pimpo meets with the Winston county medical center about what they are doing about the shortage in space.

2 medical needs to transfer a patient, they'll call up larger facilities within 100 mile radius to see if they have any beds available.

If that does not work, they contact med com in jackson to find an open critical care bed somewhere.

"but that could be anywhere from the coast, to new orleans to birmingham to anyhwere just trying to get someone to a bed that they need to be into."

Tuesday, in the state of mississippi, the department of health reports only 144 icu beds are available out of the 880 total.

"ours is about 10 or 11 as the 7 day average but that's where it was in the latter part of july and the first part of august.

It hasn't quite reached that top level yet but it's headed that way."

If space becomes an issue, black says the hospital has a plan to move any non-covid patients to their 10-bed general psych unit so they can use their 14- beds for covid patients.

"we'll put non- covid patients in there to help protect them, because that's kind of an inclosed unit and then the covid patients will be in our regular acute care side.

We just feel like that's the best way to handle it right now."

Black also told me one of their most significant issues the rise in case numbers is creating is the amount of strain it is putting on the winston medical staff members.