LINCOLN- Lincoln and Omaha hospitals alike are reporting that virus patients are occupying 25% or more of available rooms. This is because they are taking patients from their city's but also transfer patients from smaller towns. For example, the East Central Health Department which serves Platte, Colfax, Boone and Nance counties had 30 hospitalized COVID-19 patients with only one ICU bed available.

"As hospital beds in our state and region become increasingly unavailable, it has become more difficult to transfer patients in need of a higher level of care for any medical reason, not just COVID-related reasons," Veronica Schmidt, CEO of Melham Medical Center in Broken Bow, said last week in a message posted on the hospital's Facebook page.

Statewide, there are 938 hospitalized people, but in many places the number of available beds have dropped quickly. A hospital in North Platte said nearly 40% of beds were being used for virus patients. At this rate, Omaha alone could surpass the current statewide totals in just three weeks. Dr. Dan Johnson, a critical care anesthesiologist at UNMC says it is impossible for Omaha area hospitals to handle that. He noted that hospitals are used for so much more than virus patients. People with heart attacks, strokes, car accidents will also have trouble finding hospital beds and that is a bad situation for the state to be in. The state case total is 101,609, with 797 deaths linked to the virus.

Hospital officials from around the entire state have been posting letters and videos pleading state officials to take immediate action to slow the spread. While Governor Ricketts has stated that more restrictions will come when hospitals hit the 25% threshold, his only announcement of new action this week included that he would have the Capitol illuminated in blue as a ‘thank you’ to medical workers.

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