For someone reading about Mercy Hospital Ardmore–whether news coverage or releases directly from the hospital–they would likely believe that situations of overcrowded hospitals and a shortage of protective equipment are something only happening elsewhere. Indeed, the local healthcare system seems to be okay–right now.
But that is for right now. The speed at which the virus has spread unchecked in recent weeks is what worries healthcare providers and could soon be overwhelming for the system that serves about 100,000 people in the region. Hospitals around the globe became inundated with patients suffering from COVID-19 along with their routine ailments, and now we’re beginning to see that happening at U.S. hospitals.
Statements from our local hospital in recent days have effectively downplayed the situation by noting a robust supply chain across the Mercy Hospital network, one that provides protective personal equipment (PPE) and ventilators when and where they’re needed.
But when questions are asked about exactly what the hospital in Ardmore is prepared to handle, non-answers are the most common response. Numerous attempts to verify the number of ICU beds and ventilators are only met with vague reassurances that the hospital is prepared.
We still don’t know exactly how many beds are available. We still don’t know how many ventilators are available. We still don’t know if staff has adequate protective gear.
The public is being asked to “flatten the curve” and stop the virus from pushing the local healthcare system to its breaking point, but how flat must it be? That is perhaps the most important thing we still don’t know despite answers being locked away on 14th Avenue Northwest.
The population of southern Oklahoma has been asked to completely upend their lives to slow the spread of COVID-19, but many are not taking those precautions seriously and continue with social gatherings, improper hygiene, and general life as normal. And why should they make such stressful changes if the local hospital administration is suggesting that it is completely prepared?
Unless Mercy Hospital Ardmore tells the public what they are prepared to handle–honestly and openly–before a potential spike in illnesses, we will only learn the threshold after it has been crossed.
When situations happening somewhere else are suddenly happening in Oklahoma, families will finally understand what is really at stake regardless of how a press release can spin the facts.
