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Letter to the editor: Field hospitals should be recommissioned for COVID-19 patients

John Preckshot
Silverthorne

At the Summit Chamber of Commerce and Summit County Public Health Department town hall last week, I found the comments of Commissioner Tamara Pogue of great interest. Per Pogue, the challenge around hospital capacity is when we see more utilization of our ICU beds in Colorado due to the folks who are largely unvaccinated and who are still ending up in our ERs and in our hospitals due to COVID-19. That means there are fewer beds available for the traditional things that we have to treat. Nothing political to read here. Just plain logic.

Pogue also noted that ski injuries and car accidents along Interstate 70 are common in Summit County this time of year. She emphasized that if more beds are being used by unvaccinated COVID-19 patients, then it leaves fewer beds available for other types of ailments or injuries.

Since our management of COVID-19 seems to be trending backward due the massive influx of unvaccinated patients presenting to our hospitals in Colorado, perhaps we need to take another step back and recommission the emergency field hospitals that we saw erected at the beginning of COVID-19 when we had too many patients and two few hospital facilities.



In this scenario, the unvaccinated patients presenting with COVID-19 could be cared for in a COVID-19 field hospital, leaving our valuable ICU space available for the unfortunate who require high-end hospital services through no fault or decision of their own. I know I would hate to see these desperate individuals denied service based on the irresponsible decisions of others.

Nothing political to read here. Just plain logic.




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