Morehead Hospital, about 65 miles east of Lexington, is one of the hardest hit by the influx of Covid-19 patients. It is the largest medical center serving 11 counties in northeastern Kentucky and, last week, was 130% above capacity, according to the St. Louis County Executive. Claire Health Care, Donald Lloyd.
“The only reason we keep this lifeboat together is that I have a federal disaster medical assistance team here, 14 people who have just become heroes for us. And, unfortunately, its deployment is over. Friday, “said Dr. William Melah, chief physician of St. Claire Health Care told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on Monday. “I’m going to lose 14 health professionals and I literally have no idea what we’re going to do on Friday.”
Gov. Andy Beshear said during a Covid-19 briefing Monday that Kentucky hospitals “fight harder today than at any other time in the pandemic.” That’s why Beshear said about 400 National Guard troops will be deployed to 25 hospitals in the state.
“I think this is the largest deployment for a health crisis in the history of our community,” Beshear said. “Every hospital they go to not only talks about how morale increases, but it really helps in the operation and allows them to provide more care to more patients.”
The governor also sent an “army of nursing students” across the state.
A St. Claire, there are currently five EMS teams and a medical team from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Beshear said.
“We will continue to look for any other way we can help,” Beshear said.
As the hospital held on to a thread, Melah assured the community that St. Claire wouldn’t push anyone away.
“We’ll have to … (I) don’t know what we’re going to do,” he said. “I really don’t feel like answering that question right now because it’s very disturbing.”
Last week, the situation in St. Claire was so bad that some non-covid patients were waiting 24 hours to receive care or until someone got better or died, Melah said.
Melah also stressed that medical workers are not angry with patients, but rather those who have manipulated them into thinking that vaccines are not safe or that they are more dangerous than getting infected with Covid-19.
“They hear it from experts, they hear it from politicians and social media. And we’re not here to be angry with them,” Melah said. “In fact, there’s an enemy and just one thing to get angry at, is the coronavirus. That’s the real enemy. And we’re at war with the coronavirus.”