ROCK SPRINGS — The Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County (MHSC) will receive assistance from Wyoming National Guard members as it continues to feel the impacts related to the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.
During the MHSC board meeting this afternoon, Kim White, MHSC’s Incident Commander for the hospital’s COVID-19 Preparedness and Clinical Documentation Specialist, informed the board that the hospital will have Wyoming National Guard members arrive on Friday.
MHSC’s CEO Irene Richardson said the Department of Homeland Security was able to help the hospital obtain the guard members to assist the hospital until December 16.
Even though the guard members cannot help with medical procedures, they can help at the swabbing stations and any other tasks the hospital may need help with, White said.
The extra help will help take some of the stress off of the staff and they are looking forward to the help, White said.
Hospital COVID-19 Stats
White said the hospital has tested 14,722 residents for the virus so far and of those, 1,186 have tested positive. On average, the hospital has five to six COVID-19 related hospitalizations, however they currently have seven hospitalized as of Wednesday afternoon.
“We do anticipate our number of hospitalizations to go up,” White said.
“I can’t really say where we are in the curve,” Richardson said. “We are right in the middle of it.”
Vaccines
White said the most common question employees at the hospital are receiving is “when are the COVID-19 vaccines going to be available?”
Right now, the hospital doesn’t know what kind of vaccine it will receive or when it will receive them. There are two vaccines being looked at and discussed Pfizer and Moderna. White said Moderna hasn’t been approved yet and isn’t expected to receive approval until at least December 17.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC) will distribute the vaccines to the states. White said they will use population and need into account for its distribution of the vaccine.
THE LATEST COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS NEWS & INFO FROM THE WYOMING DEPT. OF HEALTH
What to do if you feel sick: If you think you have been exposed to COVID-19 and are showing symptoms, please call your primary care provider or seek medical attention.
Please follow these tips to slow the spread of this virus:
- Follow Public Health Orders
- Practice social distancing of 6 feet or more.
- Wear cloth face coverings in public settings, especially when physical distancing of at least 6 feet isn’t available.
- Stay home when sick and avoid other people unless you need medical attention.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Older people and those with health conditions that mean they have a higher chance of getting seriously ill should avoid close-contact situations.
- Long-term care and healthcare facilities should follow guidelines for infection control and prevention.
For current news, updates, closures and resources, please visit our COVID-19 Coronavirus page here.
