An Alabama heart patient died after failing to get a cardiac ICU bed at 43 hospitals. His family calls for people to be vaccinated

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But the 73-year-old became an indirect victim of Covid-19 patients filling hospitals and ICU beds.

The heart patient from Cullman, Alabama, died at a hospital in Mississippi, about 200 miles from his home, because there were no cardiac ICU beds nearby, his daughter Raven DeMonia told the Washington Post.

“In honor of Ray, please get vaccinated if you don’t, in an effort to free up resources for non-COVID-related emergencies,” the obituary said.

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“Because of COVID 19, CRMC emergency personnel contacted 43 hospitals in 3 states in search of a cardiac ICU bed and eventually located it in Meridian, MS. I wouldn’t want any another family went through what he did. “

DeMonia went to Cullman Regional Medical Center on August 23 because he had heart problems, Raven DeMonia told the Post.

He said his mother received a call from hospital staff about 12 hours after he was admitted, and said staff had called 43 hospitals and could not find a “specialized bed for cardiac ICU.” .

Eventually, staff found an ICU bed at the Rush Foundation Hospital in Meridian, Mississippi, the daughter told the Post.

Raven DeMonia was stunned to learn that her father had to be moved to Mississippi, she said.

“It was like‘ What do you mean? “He told the Post.

Citing privacy reasons, a spokesman for Cullman Regional Medical Center did not detail Ray DeMonia’s case when the Post asked him, but confirmed that DeMonia was “a patient in our care and was taken to a different center.”

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“The level of care I needed was not available at Cullman Regional,” Jennifer Malone told the Post.

“When patients are transported to other facilities to receive the care they need, this becomes increasingly difficult because all hospitals experience a lack of bed space,” Malone said.

Situations like the one the DeMonia family faced are a “continuous problem” during the Covid-19 climb, he told the Post.

CNN has tried to contact members of Ray DeMonia’s family and has contacted Cullman Regional Medical Center to comment.

There are not enough ICU beds for everyone who needs them

An influx of patients with Covid-19 has overwhelmed ICUs in Alabama, said Dr. Scott Harris, a state health agent.

The governor of the Alabama Republican Party:

Alabama had less than 60 ICU beds as of Friday, an increase in need a week earlier, when the state dropped from 40 ICU beds.

That means there are 60 patients “who receive critical care because they are chronically ill and still don’t have a ICU bed,” Harris said Friday.

“They are cared for in an emergency department or in a ward bed that has been turned into an ICU ward or a hallway room.”

People must “realize the pressure on hospital resources”

DeMonia had suffered a stroke in April 2020, her daughter said. Although the pandemic was already spreading across the country, it took only three hours for a local hospital to find a “Covid-free” hospital about 50 miles from Cullman, Raven DeMonia said.

Since then, DeMonia made sure to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

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“She knew what the vaccine meant to her health and what it meant to stay alive,” her daughter said. He said, “I just want to get my hands on people again, sell things, and talk about antiques.”

Ray DeMonia loved antiques and had been in the business for about 40 years, directing DeMonia Antiques and Auctions, according to his obituary.

The man who “traveled the country collecting antiques and sharing his wealth of knowledge,” died Sept. 1, just three days before his 74th birthday.

“Dad just wants everything back to normal,” Raven DeMonia told the Post.

“If people realized the pressure on hospital resources that is happening right now, it would be really amazing. But I don’t know if that will ever happen.”

CNN’s Melissa Alonso contributed to this report.

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