Last updated on 2020-10-12
Governor Kristi Noem claims that South Dakota is “an example to the nation” in how to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
Our example isn’t exactly sustainable if it’s based on shipping coronavirus patients to other states. We’ve already seen that coronavirus patients from the Cheyenne River Reservation had to go to Minnesota for treatment after being turned away by fourteen South Dakota facilities. Now Wyoming says we’re looking for space in their hospitals for our sick and injured:
Hospitals in South Dakota have begun asking for help from Wyoming too.
The Cheyenne Regional Medical Center is currently taking a handful of patients from South Dakota, as cases in the neighboring state surge at record highs, said Dr. Jeffrey Chapman, the hospital’s chief medical officer.
But the hospital’s ability to accept those patients is contingent on space and staff, he said. The hospital’s current capacity is doing well, but “you can go from ‘things are fine’ to ‘things are really bad’ in a short period of time,” he said [Morgan Hughes, “As Covid-19 Hospitalizations Increase, Wyoming’s Medical Community Braces for a Long Winter,” Casper Star Tribune, 2020.10.10].
And remember, empty beds aren’t enough. Wyoming and Minnesota and everyone else we’re relying on to relieve us of the burdens caused by our lax pandemic control in South Dakota has to have available medical staff:
“We are also going to have staff members who either contract COVID or might be exposed,” Chapman said. “If we get where we have beds but not staff,” they won’t be able to accept as many transfers, if any at all.
…“Staffing in some ways is probably the most challenging,” said Karen Connelly, communications officer at Jackson’s St. John’s Medical Center. She said about 24 St. John’s employees are unable to work because they’ve either contracted or been exposed to COVID-19.
…St. Johns CEO Paul Beaupre stressed just this problem in a statement published Oct. 2.
“This trajectory is simply not sustainable,” he wrote. “With this much COVID in the community, it becomes inevitable that some healthcare workers will be infected. When more essential workers become infected, it is inevitable that we will have additional healthcare workers who get exposed.”
“We are now all-hands-on-deck to keep the hospital staffed,” he added. “With our best effort, we can keep our heads above water today. What will happen if today’s COVID surge doubles next week?” [Hughes, 2020.10.10]
As CEO Beaupre says, this trajectory is not sustainable. We can’t let coronavirus continue to surge and just hope the folks who get sick enough to need hospital care can find rooms, nurses, and doctors in another state. Interstate cooperation depends on doing our part for prevention. If we don’t prevent the spread of coronavirus in our state, we negate the prevention efforts other states are making to prevent the swamping of their hospitals and the incapacitation of their medical personnel.
South Dakota right now is an example to the nation—of superspreaders and supermoochers. Let’s set a different, more helpful example to the nation—as superstoppers. We need to set our wants aside and focus on the public health needs of our residents and our neighbors. We need to move more work and school online. We need to shut down large social gatherings. And on the rare occasions when we must go out, we need to wear our masks.
Related Republican Priorities: With the Legislature’s rubber stamp of approval, Governor Noem is launching her entirely federally funded “Small Business and Healthcare Provider Relief Program.” For every dollar directed toward hospitals, Noem is directing $36 toward businesses and other entities that can’t help coronavirus patients.
Well, I suppose BAD examples are still examples. Does she not read the numbers? How can the current spread of COVID-19 in our state be viewed as anything but a failure of leadership?
Feels like DejaVu all over again no m is conspicuously absent which is probably a good thing given she seems to be unable or unwilling to make science based decisions. So while the trump-virus savages our population she is out trying get the fascist sob reelected.
It seems unconscionable to be trapesing around the country while the citizens of South Dakota are confronted with an escalating pandemic. Where is all the surplus hospital capacity that she claims exists? Oh ya it is in Wyoming and Minnesota, because they managed the pandemic better than no m who not only didn’t manage it at all she made it worse, remember Smithfield?
When did fascism become fashionable again repulicants apparently think that being anti-fascist is a bad thing; Go figure!
But, but, Curt, didn’t you see No-mind’s FB post from Friday? She’s done WONDERFULLY:
“I always knew that South Dakota could be an example to the nation; I never expected that such an example would be set in the midst of a global pandemic. But the work that South Dakota did wasn’t just me.”
She’s right about one thing–it hasn’t been just her who has botched this; it’s also all her rube followers and those who call masks “face diapers.” I don’t poop or pee through my mouth/nose and I’d immediately seek medical help if it happened. Whoops, I digressed for a second there. Anyway, it wasn’t just her, but 99% of the blame IS on her. If a loved one died because of her, I’d hate her the most for that, but currently I hate her the most for her self-righteousness in cluelessly having no idea that she is in the wrong and instead loudly proclaiming how right she is. Reminds me of someone else in politics today. Seems like the name might be similar to chump, dump, frump, slump I just can’t quite put my finger on the name. Great article, Cory.
Why are Monument, Sanford and Avera lying to us? That same old tired lie about having empty hospital beds is stale. A warehouse can hold empty hospital beds. These hospitals are being overrun while not having any form of government whatsoever to do anything for them but tell them to send them someplace else. Pitiful.
Notice that whenever the ghoul GNOem is around, they all lose the ability to tell the truth. Shameful
Wisconsin’s spike looks the same as South Dakota’s. Biggest factors: end of summer large gatherings without masks, opening in-person K-12 and universities and Republican monkeywrenching.
This country is in collapse. Lack of leadership, little social cohesion, disrespect for science and expertise, a largely ignorant population. China has done much better. It’s economy is vastly improved because it did what was required to control the virus. Under Trump and the Republicans, we are falling into second nation status.
We need to shut this state down from outside visitors, mandate masks and social distancing like brooking did. It’s the only way to get this under control. People that don’t believe it, oh well. Get over it. There is a lot of people that take it seriously and want something done. We can’t do it if you don’t follow the rules on your own. Our governor is not going to help this state. She is to busy playing campaign for trump. That’s why the people of this state needs to come together and wear masks and social distance. We can do this.
Well, first let me say I agree South Dakota can do a whole lot better than our hired and elected leaders in Pierre and the SD GOP. The silence from our congressional delegation is drowned out by the absolute vacancy of leadership or accountability or public policy from our executive or legislative leadership.
My question here is when my friend’s mother got COVID and was transferred from Monument to a pulmonary hospital in Billings, where she died, who is responsible for recording her death? South Dakota? Montana? Both? Neither?
There are hundreds of ways to present data that without honest interpretation is useless. The void of management, supervision, and communication from elected leaders is astonishing.
I have no doubt that each and every one of the incumbent Republican leaders elected by the people of this state will suffer no political consequence from those same voters. We can easily predict our election results in South Dakota and correspondingly expect more of the same caliber of leaders.
The rock solid establishment of GOP political dominance in South Dakota is a self-feeding beast. I hope the election results here, as they will across America, provide optimism, but I’m not optimistic.
Locals Blacks wouldn’t come so they paid travel and lodging for the attendees for the trump virus rally.
“Some guests for Saturday’s White House event on the South Lawn, which will be President Donald Trump’s first since testing positive for the coronavirus, had their travel and lodging paid for by controversial conservative activist Candace Owens’ group BLEXIT, according to emails obtained by ABC News.” https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/candace-owens-blexit-group-pays-attendees-travel-trumps/story?id=73531036
This doesn’t say to much about anything other than being poor and looking for work, any work that pays.
Mr. Pay’s viewpoint on China is skewed because his daughter is running the show over there. Mr. Murphy’s viewpoint on the GOP is focused on the typical money-grubbing lobbists and is not taking into account the Conservatives with Common Sense, who really run the show behind the doors closed to many.
The Atlantic says schools are not super spreader locations.
is.gd/emAGxW
Stop the presses! Don Pay’s daughter is “running the show over there”? (China, evidently) How is it that only Grudznick knows these international secrets?
John Nichols
@NicholsUprising
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44m
Ronald Reagan lied.
George H.W. Bush lied.
George W. Bush lied.
The problem isn’t Donald Trump.
The problem is a Republican Party that for decade after decade has been on the hunt for the next big liar.
Emily Oster is an economist, so economically, any business (schools are big business) is not a super spreader because it goes against the economy.
I agree Jerry. Some of these articles reflect the author’s wishes more than what the numbers reflect.
Good question brought up by J. Murphy– who records the stats when people are shuffled from one state to another?
And what happens if I get sick and am sent out of state where my health insurance doesn’t cover anything beyond emergency treatment?
If you are transferred to Wyoming and die, do you count as a South Dakota death or as a Wyoming death?
Fairburn, you would have to pay the out of network charges. Where it really gets dicey, are the ambulance charges. Count on air ambulance charges to be between $30,000.00 and $40,000.00 at least. The trump virus is the gift that keeps giving. We’re on our own.
Meanwhile, the South Dakota hospitals continue to lie and say that we have plenty of bed space. When will they tell the truth? Never, why would they.
Just like traffic deaths when you are from out of state and get killed in a different state.
Wonder how China is doing with this Covid-19. Oh yeah, they take it very seriously. 9 million people tested in 5 days, that shows a government that can get stuff done for it’s citizens. Here, we have the herd “mentality” of foraging chimps tossing feces.
“Authorities in China’s Qingdao said on Monday they would test the city’s entire population of more than nine million people for COVID-19 during the next five days, after new cases appeared linked to a hospital treating people who had been confirmed with the disease after returning from overseas.
The coastal city, nearly 700km (435 miles) southeast of Beijing, reported six new COVID-19 cases and six asymptomatic cases as of late October 11 with most of the cases linked to the Qingdao Chest Hospital.”
Meanwhile all day long Republicans are slugging the Democratic party for its “radical far left socialism” to try and win voters. Neel Kashkari says lawmakers must provide financial aid NOW, and;
Squawk Box
@SquawkCNBC
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Oct 7
“It allows them to eke out few extra basis points in good times and then when they get scared the markets collapse and the central bank has to step in to backstop it. That’s the definition of privatized profits and socialized losses,” says Minneapolis Fed President. Twitter
Wow, some folks are having a hard time staying on topic.
Jeff asks an important question about where the death is counted. If other states take our serious cases and those patients die, does the black mark go on their stats and help South Dakota artificially deflate its own grim stats?
Fairburn and Jerry address an important equity issue: if my in-network hospital refuses to admit me and shuttles me off to an out-of-network hospital, shouldn’t my in-network hospital bear the cost it imposes on me with its decision?
This might help Jeff some…..from Chicago Tribune
NEW YORK — Riverdale Nursing Home in the Bronx appears, on paper, to have escaped the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, with an official state count of just four deaths in its 146-bed facility.
The truth, according to the home, is far worse: 21 dead, most transported to hospitals before they succumbed.
“It was a cascading effect,” administrator Emil Fuzayov recalled. “One after the other.”
New York’s coronavirus death toll in nursing homes, already among the highest in the nation, could actually be a significant undercount. Unlike every other state with major outbreaks, New York only counts residents who died on nursing home property and not those who were transported to hospitals and died there.
Before some drive by Steve’s head explodes, Navy Hospital Ship sent to NY was to accept only reg patients from hospitals to make room for more covid patients in hospitals.
If it is not an emergency, then you would have to pay out of network charges. If it’s an emergency, then you would be covered as if you were in network. That is really up to the insurance company on how they would deal with it. Count on it being a big hassle and keep your checkbook at the ready.
It appears SD has the beds, but are not staffing the beds so people are sent out of state. Possibly the 3 health providers could be complicit with the gov to keep the numbers low.