Houston, MO – Texas County Memorial Hospital was recently featured on CNN show Newsroom with Alisyn Camerota and Victor Blackwell, discussing the climbing numbers of COVID patience in the area. The transcripts from that interview can be read below.
Texas memorial hospital says it’s now seeing covid patients who are younger with fewer underlying health issues.
[00:00:35]
Lauren, thank you for being with us. First, I just want you to paint a picture for us of what you’re seeing in your hospital. >> So before we had prepped for this a year and a half ago and we’ve been ready. We saw very sick patients but we saw more older and preexisting. So then we had a little bit of a break and we started to become more positive about the situation. Now what we’re seeing is younger, sicker, faster.
[00:01:05]
We don’t see the preexistings that we saw before. It’s very frightening. >> Are they in intensive care? Are they needing ventilators? >> When they’re coming in a lot of times before we would see them and they would have low oxygen and they almost wouldn’t know it. Now they’re coming in and they’re gasping. They’re needing oxygen. Our hospital is very well-equipped. We have a lot of tools we use.
[00:01:37]
We often start them out with high flow, offering oxygen and flow and humidify just to try to combat where they’re rapidly declining. Often times before we could see them sustain longer. We’re seeing younger without the preexisting and they’re rapidly declining. Unfortunately we’re seeing a higher number of people on the ventilator at younger age. >> How many of these patients are unvaccinated? >> I can’t officially say for
[00:02:07]
all of them. I know the patients I care for, the very critical, they have been unvaccinated. >> All of them? >> Yes, sir. >> All of them unvaccinated. Let’s put up the map. This is the state of Missouri. You could see here that the percentage of vaccinated there, the few number of people vaccinated in Texas county from your state, 21% of people there are fully vaccinated.
[00:02:38]
That means close to 4 out of 5 of the people who live in that county are unvaccinated. Are they telling you why they’re not getting the vaccines? >> I can’t speak fully for that. Usually when I’m in the trenches I’m just there to work with them, help them get towards a goal that we get them out of here safe and healthy. So I’m really not having those discussions.
[00:03:08]
I’m more focused on getting them through the bad part of it and getting them out of here healthy and alive. I can’t speak for the public. For us as health care workers, it’s extremely saddening when we see people hurting, suffering and unfortunately passing and there’s an effective tool. That’s the hard part for us. >> I understand you can’t speak for anyone there in the state or even in the county. Speaking for yourself, how does this feel to be back at this
[00:03:40]
place after what your state and the country lived through over the last 15 months or so. >> I’m going to be honest. I’ve had some moments and I have a lot of support at my hospital. We have an amazing administration that comes in and they’ve asked what can we do to keep morale. It’s almost like watching a storm brew in and you’re like it’s happening again. And I say I try not to tear up about it. We’re respiratory therapists.
[00:04:11]
We’re kind of salty. We’ve seen it all. I’ve been doing this 24 years and I’ve seen a lot. It’s hard. It’s fighting and trying and then you have the technology, you have the appropriate equipment and it’s not working and you know it’s coming again, but the population is younger and then you worry about your family. I was taking to an E.R. Doc
[00:04:41]
yesterday. He and I have been friends for years. He said it’s truly saddening. We all are staying positive for each other. You know, we’re doing little things for each other, but to be honest, you drive home sad. >> Listen, we’re seeing all over the country the increase in cases and some communities like there in Texas county just are
