HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — More and more of those caring for the sick are getting sick, increasing the strain on a health care system already stretched thin by Alabama COVID numbers.
David Spillers, Huntsville Hospital CEO, laid it out, saying, "In addition to having many patients, many of our employees are out with COVID, system wide today we have almost 250 employees that are out."
Dr. Pam Hudson, CEO of Crestwood Medical Center, went a step further, explaining, "We can stretch our physical capacity the thing we cannot stretch is our staffing capacity. People who are healthy and able to provide care are exhausted."
This is particularly bad news during the holiday season because, according to Spillers, "We have many other types of illnesses in the hospital in the winter. It's just that's when hospitals have their biggest demand."
Are health leaders worried about Thanksgiving? In a word, yes.
Spillers said, "I know everyone wants to get together for Thanksgiving, it's not a time to have a family event, I'm sorry. Do it by Zoom, do it creatively, but if you're getting together, you still need to separate. Wear a mask. If you're eating at a table, it's hard to separate but you need to. If the room holds a 100 people, don't have but about 10 or 15 in there. I mean, you really need to get space between people, wear your mask whenever possible and sanitize. Don't share the same utensils, don't do a buffet. Those types of things."