{"id":22138,"date":"2020-03-29T11:25:28","date_gmt":"2020-03-29T17:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyhinews.com\/?p=63972"},"modified":"2020-03-29T11:25:28","modified_gmt":"2020-03-29T17:25:28","slug":"coronavirus-is-already-pressuring-rural-hospitals-even-in-counties-where-no-cases-have-been-confirmed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/local-news\/coronavirus-is-already-pressuring-rural-hospitals-even-in-counties-where-no-cases-have-been-confirmed\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus is already pressuring rural hospitals, even in counties where no cases have been confirmed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Memorial Regional Health, pictured Feb. 27, 2020, was established in 1952 as a hospital owned by Moffat County. The hospital moved into a new building in 2009, and a new medical office building was opened in 2019. <\/strong>
Matt Stensland, Special to The Colorado Sun<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

On a typical spring day, Craig\u2019s Memorial Regional Hospital, in the rural northwest part of Colorado, monitors patients in 10 of its 25 available beds. As of March 25, there were no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Moffat County, a four-hour drive from Denver.<\/p>\n

But the pandemic is already having a disastrous effect on Memorial.<\/p>\n

Pleas by the state to avoid nonessential surgeries and procedures, combined with residents\u2019 worries about infection, have cut the patient census to six a day. Craig Memorial can\u2019t survive long on a 40% drop in its biggest source of revenue.<\/p>\n

In Teller County at the western foot of Pikes Peak, where there have been seven confirmed cases of COVID-19 and one death attributed to the disease, the senior services agency, Teller Senior Coalition, which had just acquired a third wheelchair van for rides, has switched to crisis scheduling: Medical rides only, and food deliveries to seniors too vulnerable to go shopping.<\/p>\n

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