In that article, the following quote appeared:
“St. Patrick's Hospital in Missoula has no beds available, McKay said, adding that its intensive care unit is also completely full and bed availability fluctuates constantly.”
The ‘McKay’ being referenced is Dr. James McKay, who serves as Providence Montana’s physician executive.
These statements are misleading at best, lies at worst.
According to page 4 of the August 16 Covid-19 Hospital Occupancy and Capacity Report in Montana, St. Patrick’s Hospital is not full.
They have 142 non-covid patients right now, 10 covid patients, and 47 beds available. That’s a DPHHS report that came out 3 days ago.
If we look at just the ICU, they have 13 non-covid patients, 7 covid patients, and 4 beds open. The ICU is 84% full, mostly with people that don't have covid!
How about Community Medical Center?
Hospital-wide, they have 57 non-covid patients, 7 covid patients, and 75 beds available. In their ICU, it’s 26 non-covid patients, 3 covid patients, and 13 beds available. 61% of their ICU is taken-up with people that don't have covid!
Why do our elected officials and the highly-paid hospital executives lie to us like this?
Another question to ask is, ‘why do they want us in so much fear?’
For instance, the issue of ventilators, or as we affectionately refer to them as, vents. What do those numbers look like? The Missoulian wanted you to be afraid of this, with this remark:
"I was in the intensive care unit yesterday talking to a nurse and that nurse was saying she's kind of haunted by looks in people's eyes when they get ready to intubate them," McKay said. "And that, to hear that remorse and the fear and stuff as they're getting ready to intubate them and hear people say they wish they would have believed it, all the regrets. And that haunts her.”
According to the DPHHS report from Monday, St. Patrick’s here in Missoula has 6 non-covid patients on vents, 2 covid patients, and 34 vents available.
At Community Medical, it’s 2 non-covid patients on vents, 3 covid patients, and 4 vents available.
Hmm...seems to me that we have no shortage of vents in this town...and also, most of the people on the damn things don’t even have covid!!!
Yep, 61% of those on a vent don’t have covid, compared to the 39% that do.
But you wouldn’t know that from the spurious reporting in the Missoulian, now would you? And to think, all that reporter had to do was go and find that DPHHS report and challenge the hospital executive about those numbers.
But the reporter chose not to, and now this misinformation is out there in our community, being spread far and wide right now on social media.
Statewide, the worst hospital for covid is Billings Clinic, where they have 38 covid patients, 234 non-covid patients, and 53 beds available.
Real crisis, isn't it?