Northern Michigan hospitals wrestle with full beds as Michigan becomes COVID hotspot
EMMET COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) -- According to the latest report from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Michigan is the worst COVID hotspot in the nation.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said COVID patients in hospitals rose by nearly 50% in the past month with more than 3,000 COVID patients, nearly a fifth of which are in ICU beds, across the state.
At McLaren Northern Michigan in Petoskey, state numbers from Monday show the hospital at 95% capacity for beds.
And the trend continues across northern Michigan.
Munson Medical Center is reporting 77% capacity and War Memorial Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie is at 80%.
"It’s Déjà vu all over again. Because last year at this time we were the highest in the nation as well. So you know concerns are obviously, at least in Sault Ste. Marie we’re seeing COVID cases for sure," said War Memorial Hospital President and CEO David Jahn. "From the hospital perspective we’re not overwhelmed yet, I know some other hospitals in different areas are but I think we have a total of 11 in the hospital today.”
Jahn explained his main worries lie in staffing and vaccination.
But he said he is hopeful that they can get through these coming weeks and see a downward trend in a few months' time.
