With a spike in COVID-19 patients and a staffing shortage, it doesn’t take long for Newman Regional Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Alana Longwell to describe the current status of hospital employees.
On KVOE’s Talk of Emporia this week, Longwell said staffers have been busier than normal for 18 months solid.
Longwell says she’s glad to be part of a hospital team, from frontline workers to administrators, that supports each other — but at the same time, Longwell says “it’s hard to see the end” of the pandemic after the delta surge that began in July.
Newman Regional Health went from admitting less than one COVID-19 patient per day in June and early July to over four per day at the end of August, and CEO Bob Wright says emergency room traffic is at levels not seen in a year. This comes as overall patient volumes are close to pre-COVID levels. Wright says outpatient volumes are “strong” and clinics are up to 90 percent of projections, although traffic for elective procedures is “down slightly.”
