HAS
HAS BEEN
HAS BEEN KEEPING PRETTY GOOD TABS ON WHAT IS HAPPENING ACROSS THE
COUNTRY IN TERMS OF
COVID-19.
ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FIT
TO PRINT IS THEIR MOTTO.
TODAY THEY PRINTED AN
ARTICLE RANKING COVID
OUTBREAKS IN METRO
AREAS ACROSS THE
UNITED STATES.
AND GUESS WHO CAME
IN NUMBER ONE?
IDAHO FALLS...NOW HAS
THE GREATEST NUMBER
OF NEW CASES, PER
CAPITA...ACCORDING TO
THE NEW YORK TIMES.
55.9 AVERAGE DAILY
CASES PER 100,000
PEOPLE. REXBURG
CAME IN AT NUMBER 3.
IT WENT IDAHO
FALLS...NEW YORK
CITY...AND REXBURG,
IDAHO.
SO WHILE THE REST OF US
IN OTHER PARTS OF IDAHO
MAY BE CELEBRATING
DECREASING CASES OR AT
LEAST A PLATEAU... THE
OPPOSITE IS HAPPENING
IN EASTER IDAHO.
AND MEDICAL
PROFESSIONALS ARE
ONCE AGAIN BEARING THE
BRUNT OF IT.
KATIJA STJEPVIC REACHED
OUT TO A DOCTOR WE'VE
SPOKEN WITH BEFORE ON
THE 208.
SHE ASKED DR KENNETH
KRELL...AN I-C-U
SPECIALIST AT EASTERN
IDAHO REGIONAL
MEDICAL CENTER... WHY
THINGS ARE TRENDING IN
THE WRONG DIRECTION
ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF
THE STATE.... ONCE
AGAIN...AND WHAT THIS
MEANS.
1:48
1:48 WE
1:48 WE HAVE ONE QUARTER OF THE POPULATION OF ADA
COUNTY AND THERE HAVE
BEEN DAYS WHEN WE
HAVE HAD MORE CASES
1:57 IN ADA COUNTY
WITH A POPULATION IN
ADA THAT IS FOUR TIME
OUR POPULATION 2:03
4:00 WE ARE IN THIS
TRAJECTORY WHERE WE
HAVE GOT INCREASED
POPULATION OF ADA
COUNTY AND THERE HAVE
BEEN DAYS WHEN WE
HAVE HAD MORE CASES
1:57 IN ADA COUNTY
WITH
WITH A
WITH A POPULATION IN ADA THAT IS FOUR TIME OUR POPULATION 2:03
4:00 WE ARE IN THIS
TRAJECTORY WHERE WE
HAVE GOT INCREASED
CASES BUT DON'T YET
HAVE THE IMMUNITY
DR KENNETH KRELL AT
EASTERN REGIONAL
MEDICAL CENTER IN
IDAHO FALLS SAYS THEIR
ICU HAS BEEN AT
CAPACITY FOR SEVERAL
DAYS. ... WHILE COVID
PATIENTS ARE NOT
MAKING UP THE
MAJORITY OF
HOSPITALIZATIONS, DR
HOSPITALIZATIONS, DR
KRELL
KRELL SAYS THE NUMBER OF COVID PATIENTS IS CLIMBING, LEAVING VERY
LIMITED OPTIONS FOR
PATIENTS WITH MEDICAL
CONCERNS NOT RELATED
TO THE VIRUS
5:04 WE HAVE BEEN USING
OVER
OVER FLOW
OVER FLOW AND WE BEG, BORROW AND STEEL BEDS FROM ELSEWHERE IN THE
HOSPITAL 5:12
3:06 ITS AN ODD
SITUATION BECAUSE WE
ARE AT THE POINT WHERE
WE ARE SEEING LESS
HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS
WHO ARE OVER 65 ,
PARTICULARLY THE
NURSING HOME
POPULATION, WE HAVE
MADE A DIFFERENCE IN
THAT POPULATION 3:23
THAT IS THANKS IN PART
TO VACCINES... BUT NOW
DR KRELL SAYS A
MAJORITY OF HIS
PATIENTS ARE IN THEIR 40
AND 50S.. IN EARLY
FEBRUARY
FEBRUARY EASTERN IDAHO PUBLIC HEALTH BEGAN LIFTING PUBLIC
HEALTH ORDERS,
INCLUDING MASK
MADATES...AND DR. KRELL
BELIEVES IT'S A
CONTRIBUTING FACTOR
CONTRIBUTING FACTOR
TO
TO THE
TO THE RISE IN HOSPITALIZATIONS. 2:10 THE POLITICAL
CLIMATE IS DIFFERENT
HERE AND SOMEHOW WE
ALLOWED MASKING TO
BECOME A POLITICIZED
ENEDEVOR 2:24 WITH
RESISTANCE FROM A
CERTAIN
CERTAIN PORTION OF THE POPULATION WHO ARE PROBABLY MORE
PREVALENT IN EASTERN
IDAHO
IDAHO
DR.
DR. KRELL
DR. KRELL SAYS THE UPTICK IN CASES IS PREDOMINANTLY IN
BONNEVILLE COUNTY.
IN DECEMBER, THE
COUNTY SAW A PEAK OF A
MOVING DAY AVERAGE OF
112 CASES... IN FEBRUARY
THAT NUMBER DROPPED
DOWN TO 15.8 AND JUST
DAYS AGO, THE 7 DAY
MOVING AVERAGE
CLIMBED TO 73.2 CASES.
6:32
6:32 IT
6:32 IT IS SIMPLY A MATTER OF EXHAUSTION AT THIS POINT, WE HAVE
NURSES WHO ARE
WORKING 18-HOUR
SHIFTS AND THEN 8
HOURS OFF AND THEN
RIGHT BACK TO ANOTHER
SHIFT OF 12 OR 18 HOURS
4:46 AND DURING THOSE
SHIFTS HAVING TO TAKE
CARE
CARE OF
CARE OF MORE PATIENTS THAN OUR USUAL RATIO OF PATIENTS TO NURSES
6:559:29 WE ARE AT THE
POINT WHERE WE COULD
BE SEEING A DECREASE IN
CASES AND EVERY TIME
WE
WE ADMIT
WE ADMIT ANOTHER PATIENT TO THE ICU THATS ANOTHER CRITICALLY ILL
PATIENT THAT COULD
HAVE
HAVE BEEN
HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF WE HAD MORE CAUTION 9:43 WHILE OTHER PARTS OF
IDAHO SEEM TO BE
INCHING BACK TO
NORMAL, DR. KRELL
WANTS EASTERN IDAHO
RESIDENTS TO KNOW
HOPE IS IN THEIR FUTURE...
BUT ITS UP TO THEM.
8:50 I WOULD JUST ASK
ALL OF US TO CONTINUE
TO BE VIGILANT ON THOSE
MEASURES
MEASURES THAT WE KNOW MAKE A DIFFERENCE EVEN IF YOU
ARE SKEPTICAL IF THEY
DO, JUST PLEASE ADHERE
FOR A PERIOD OF TIME,
WE ARE GOING TO GET
OUT OF THIS 9:06
EASTERN
EASTERN IDAHO REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER HAS 29 BEDS IN
THE ICU... WITH 30
PATIENTS
PATIENTS RIGHT NOW... 10 OF THEM ARE IN THERE BECAUSE OF COVID...
SO TO PUT THIS INTO
PERSPECTIVE...
HERE ARE SOME
STATEWIDE NUMBERS.. AS
OF MONDAY MARCH
15TH...
155 PEOPLE HAD BEEN
HOSPITALIZED WITH
COVID AND 41 WERE IN
THE ICU DUE TO COVID ....
SO THESE PATIENTS IN THE
ICU AT THIS ONE HOSPITAL
IN EASTERN IDAHO ARE
MAKING UP ALMOST A
QUARTER OF ICU PATIENTS
IN
IN THE
IN THE ENTIRE STATE... SO THEY ARE BEING HIT HARD TO SAY THE LEAST,