‘Everyone is tired’ Feds send medical team to Morehead as COVID cases surge in Kentucky
A 15-member federal disaster team that includes a doctor, nurses and other medical professionals is now in place at St. Claire Regional Medical Center in Morehead to provide additional staff and relief to the hospital that has been besieged with COVID-19 patients, hospital and state officials said.
The Disaster Medical Assistance Team is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Disaster Medical System, which helps communities respond to public health emergencies and disasters.
The team arrived Saturday and will be in Morehead for 14 days. After 14 days, the state can ask for the team to stay for an additional 14-day stint.
The group can help open more available beds that had not been used due to lack of staffing, state officials said Sunday. The team is fortifying existing staffing and areas of specialty, including those offered by St. Claire’s respiratory team, and clinicians tasked with ventilator management, according to state officials.
Gov. Andy Beshear requested additional help from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as the state’s hospital system has buckled under a surge of COVID-19 patients driven by the highly contagious Delta variant. On Friday a record number of Kentuckians were in the hospital with the virus —2,365. The number of people in intensive care was 661 and the number of people on ventilators was 425, both new records.
On Friday, St. Claire had 34 inpatient COVID patients and an additional 38 patients being treated through its outpatient COVID Care at Home program, hospital officials said.
“We have a great team at SCH, but everyone is tired. While we know this assistance will be temporary, it’s going to give our clinical staff some much-needed, and well-deserved relief,” said Donald H. Lloyd, II, St. Claire Hospital CEO and President.
Virtually all hospitalizations and deaths at St. Claire are unvaccinated patients, hospital officials said. From July 1 to Sept. 3, more than 80% of COVID-19 patients admitted to St. Claire were not vaccinated. Of the 15 COVID-related deaths reported during this time, only one was fully vaccinated.
To augment the state’s beleaguered and fatigued health care system, Federal Emergency Management Agency staff have sent five EMS strike teams that help transport COVID-19 patients. Those teams are operating in Corbin, Lexington, Louisville, Owensboro and Somerset but can be dispatched all over the state.
In addition, Beshear has activated the Kentucky National Guard to help at various rural hospitals throughout the state.
Meanwhile, the uptick in new cases and hospitalizations has not slowed, state officials said Sunday. Many health care professionals were worried that Labor Day weekend will bring a new round of COVID-19 cases as people gathered during the three-day weekend. The state saw similar spikes after other holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and Memorial Day.
“As of Aug. 27, the rate of new COVID cases had increased by 50% over the previous week,” said Cabinet for Health and Human Services Secretary Eric Friedlander. “Hospitalizations were up 56%. The community transmission rate increased by 524%. We have never seen the like of this in our lifetimes, and we must come together and do everything possible to clip further spread of this virus.”
Lloyd urged those who are not yet inoculated to do so.
“We’ve seen over the past months just how effective vaccines are in fighting COVID-19,” Lloyd said. “It’s important that everyone in our community who is eligible for a vaccine gets vaccinated as soon as possible to protect themselves and those who are most vulnerable to serious complications or death related to COVID.”
On Saturday, Beshear ordered the General Assembly into a special legislative session beginning Tuesday to address his emergency powers during the pandemic.
This story was originally published September 6, 2021 at 2:56 PM.
