Message from Paul Stewart: Clearing up Misinformation
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To clear up some misinformation appearing in the comments on our page, we offer the following statement:
We are puzzled by insinuations that the data we present to the public have been manipulated. Our data related to the COVID pandemic are publicly reported to the Department of Health and Human Services daily to inform the federal government on where resources are needed the most. We also are not sure why the numbers are the most important aspect of COVID reporting to so many people – isn’t one preventable death enough to ask people to wear a mask?
Staffing the medical center is a complicated process that is driven by how ill patients are, how long they need to stay, what their co-existing conditions are among other factors. The average length of hospital stay for COVID-19 patients is much longer than for other patients – so when more are admitted it further complicates the management of our census. That means the number of patients we can safely staff is a constantly moving target. And, in a small community, there are not a lot of other resources readily available to us as there are in the metro areas. Therefore, when our resources are stretched thin, it makes sense to try to prevent as much illness as we can.
That said, as of earlier this morning (Friday, Dec. 4) there were 68 patients in the hospital. About a quarter of them are here because they have COVID-19. That means, because of the nature of care for COVID patients, more than a fourth of our staff are pulled off of other caregiver responsibilities to care for COVID patients; this means they are not available to care for hip replacements, knee replacements, hysterectomies, or other non-emergent procedures. Not all of these COVID admissions are preventable, but many of them are. Here’s some more data: At about 8 a.m. today, there were 18 patients here who were so ill they required Intensive Care Unit care. Of those, half are COVID patients, thus exceeding our normal ICU bed availability and thus requiring setting up of a second Intensive Care Unit. And of those, one-third are on ventilators and fighting for their lives.
The science is clear, as has been pointed out in references provided by visitors on this page and in the comments: Masks will not prevent all spread of this disease, but it will certainly and clearly prevent some of it. Some people don’t want to wear a mask because they think it’s not protecting them. That is not why we ask you to wear one. We are asking you to be selfless and protect others because you may have COVID and not know it. Isn’t preventing the suffering of even one person having to struggle just to breathe enough to ask people to wear a mask?
People value the freedom to make choices, but we implore you to think of others. As a society, we ask you not to speed in school zones, to not drive under the influence, and now we are asking you to help slow the spread of this disease. This is not about what businesses can be open and whether or not kids should be in school. Rather, it’s about protecting our local community’s healthcare providers and ensuring we can care for everyone.
Please do the right thing and wear a mask and physically distance from others.
