High COVID hospital admissions make hospital transfer difficult

ST. LOUIS (AP) – The current surge in virus infections in Missouri due to the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant is reducing hospital capacity and making it difficult to transfer patients to other hospitals. larger hospital.

Kellie Meehan told St. Louis Post-Dispatch that she could hear the desperation in the doctors and nurses’ voices as they called the Mercy transfer center she oversees. But more and more she had to refuse their requests to transfer money.

Hospitalizations from the virus have surged across Missouri in recent weeks, reaching 3,526 as of Thursday, the most recent data available. This is 700 more than last year’s peak.