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St. Peter's implements surge plan as COVID cases spike - Helena Independent Record
Nov 22, 2020 1 min, 16 secs
Peter's Health has started implementing its surge capacity plan as COVID-19 cases continue to climb and more than 60 staff members are not working due to virus-related issues.

Peter's Health spokeswoman Kathryn Gallagher, the hospital's eight intensive care unit beds were full, five of which held COVID-19 patients, as of Wednesday evening.

"Our bed capacity is strained in the hospital with currently a few acute care, inpatient beds available and able to be staffed," Gallagher said in an email.

"Instead, the plan is flexible and adaptable based on several factors, including staffing capacity," Gallagher said.

The surge capacity plan includes transitioning beds that are not typically used for acute care, including beds in the same-day services area, to beds used for acute medical care.

As part of this plan, Gallagher said that at times, health care workers have cared for critically ill patients outside of the ICU proper when it is full.

Peter's COVID-19 wing and said the nurses who remain in that wing are resilient.

Peter's Health have their own union, which Barnhart said has proved an effective avenue through which to communicate with the hospital's policymakers.

Such a move not only helps alleviate concerns about the amount of time it takes to care for a patient, but also goes a long way toward preventing the hospital's nurses from burning out and reducing disease exposure. .

"We can sustain surge capacity operations for quite some time, but we cannot lose sight of the physical and psychological toll on those on the front lines," Gallagher said.

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