Alabama: A man who suffered a heart attack dies after being rejected in 43 hospitals full of COVID-19 patients

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Ray Martin Dimoni died three days before his 74th birthday (photo: dignitymemorial)
Ray Martin Dimoni died three days before his 74th birthday (photo: dignitymemorial)

While hundreds of COVID-19 patients filled intensive care units in Alabama, in the southern United States, most of them unvaccinated, hospital staff contacted 43 hospitals in three states to find an intensive care bed specializing in cardiology for Ray Martin DeMonia, As his family wrote in his obituary.

The 73-year-old antiquarian based in Cullman it was eventually transferred to Meridian, Mississippi, about 274 kilometers (170 miles) away. That’s where he died Sept. 1 because of the heart problem he suffered. Now his family is making a plea. “In honor of Ray, please get vaccinated if you haven’t, in an attempt to free up resources for non-COVID-19 emergencies“, Reads in his obituary.

“Because of VOCID-19, CRMC emergency personnel contacted 43 hospitals in three states in search of a cardiac intensive care bed and finally found one in Meridian, Mississippi,” the text, referring to the Cullman Regional Medical Center for its acronym in English. “He would not want any other family to go through the same thing as his”.

For weeks, Alabama has seen a surge in patients filling hospitals and intensive care units (and most of them are not vaccinated against COVID-19), making it increasingly difficult to relocate patients to other centers. for them to receive specialized care, said Dr. Don Williamson, a former state health director who currently heads the Alabama Hospitals Association.

“Every day hospitals are trying to find a place to transfer patients, and it is very difficult“, Williamson pointed out.”We have had patients who have been transferred to Georgia, Kentucky and Florida”.

Many patients have had to be referred to other states (Reuters)
Many patients have had to be referred to other states (Reuters)

Jennifer Malone, a spokeswoman for Cullman Hospital, confirmed that Demon was a patient there and needed to be transferred to receive a higher level of specialized care that was not available at the CRMC. He was unable to comment further on privacy issues, but said “the continued increase in patients with COVID-19 has saturated tertiary care hospitals, creating an ongoing and growing challenge for medical center staff to find hospitals capable of receiving patient transfers when needed. “

Monday, Alabama had 2,474 COVID-19 patients admitted to state hospitals, of whom 86% were not vaccinated against the disease, According to the Alabama Hospitals Association.

(With AP information)

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