When it comes to COVID-19 in Lea County, things are still not good. The risk of becoming infected, especially for those who are unvaccinated, is extremely high. Hospitals and ICU units are full, and medical staff are being stretched to their limits.
With Lea County emergency rooms full to capacity, most often with coronavirus patients, somewhat of a void for other medical emergencies is a reality. Emergency room waits are often hours long with inpatient and ICU beds unavailable.
Joint Press Conference
City of Hobbs Mayor Sam Cobb and Covenant Health Hobbs Hospital CEO Dan Springer came together for a joint press conference a week ago on Thursday, August 26 to discuss these problems. The comments of both Mayor Cobb and CEO Springer were translated into Spanish for the convenience of the area’s Spanish speaking community.
Mayor Cobb Asks the Public to Wear Masks and Get Vaccinated
“Positive COVID cases have drastically risen in Lea County in recent weeks. They create heavy burdens on our health care providers and our facilities,” stated Mayor Cobb. He, then, requested community assistance in helping to curb the spread of COVID-19 by wearing a mask and receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
Springer Talks About Emergency Room Availability and COVID Treatment
Springer echoed the mayor’s statements and confirmed that the recent surge in countywide coronavirus cases is creating an increase in demand for hospital services. Springer pointed out that when inpatient capacity is reached, emergency room beds are often occupied by COVID-19 patients rather than by individuals with medical emergencies.
Still, Springer encouraged folks to come to the emergency room when experiencing medical emergencies. “We will always be there,” he said, noting that emergency room staff are skilled in evaluating patient needs, with the sickest allowed “to come in first.”
Springer also mentioned that as an alternative to the hospital’s emergency room, the public can use Covenant Health’s Family Medicine walk-in clinic to meet health needs and medical emergencies. The clinic is located at 5320 North Lovington Highway in Hobbs. Although not open 24/7, the clinic’s hours are 7:00 am – 7:00 pm on weekdays and 7:00 am – 11:00 am on Saturday. The clinic is closed on Sunday.
About COVID-19 treatment Springer stated that the Covenant Health medical staff does everything in its power to treat patients at its Hobbs hospital but that sometimes a higher level of care than what this facility is equipped to provide is necessary. In such cases patients must be moved to a regional facility. “Our goal is to get them [COVID patients] to that regional facility quickly,” says Springer. In reality the transfer often takes longer than normal because of the current strain on the system.
Nor-Lea Hospital CEO David Shaw Talks About Rising COVID Case Counts
Nor-Lea Hospital District CEO/Administrator David Shaw agrees with Springer about the current medical challenges that Lea County is facing. In an August 25 press conference he said, “We are going through a difficult phase for all of our hospitals in Lea County. The volumes that we are seeing are somewhat overwhelming and as a result of that some of these patients are suffering.”
According to Shaw, coronavirus case counts are growing very rapidly and the medical community is 99.9% certain that the Delta variant, which is extremely infectious and spreads very easily, is the reason for the current surge in COVID cases.
Eight weeks ago Nor-Lea reported only four coronavirus cases. During the week of August 15, the hospital reported 580 cases, and the hospital’s count of new cases the two days before Shaw’s press conference a little over a week ago was almost 300. “That is a very large number,” he said.
45.4% of Folks 18 Years and Older Are Fully Vaccinated in Lea County
In a press conference on Wednesday, September 1, Deputy Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) Laura Parajón, M.D., showed a county-by-county chart indicating the percentage of individuals 18 years of age and older fully vaccinated statewide. In Lea County the number is 45.4%.
Although this percentage is lower than in some counties, the percentage of individuals 18 and older in the county being vaccinated is going up. People seem to be responding to requests from public officials and medical community spokesmen to get vaccinated. Dr. Parajón emphasised that people who are not vaccinated are the ones getting sick.
In the same press conference NMDOH State Epidemiologist Dr. Christine Ross agreed with Dr. Parajón. Dr. Ross said, “the majority of infections that we are seeing are among unvaccinated individuals. This is what is driving the current surge of cases…”
School-Aged Children Are the Ones Getting Sick
Right now many school-aged children are getting sick. According to Dr. Ross, one reason may be that some parents who are willing to get vaccinated themselves have concerns about getting their children 12 years of age and older vaccinated. Additionally remember that the vaccine is not available to children younger than 12. The bottom line is that the number of unvaccinated children is very large, and it is vitally important that all people who are around unvaccinated children regardless of age are vaccinated themselves.
“Children have multiple possible exposure events.”
Dr. Christine Ross, NMDOH
These events can happen in the community and/or in school. In school many unvaccinated children come together in a closed environment. “We want to stop onward transmission of this extremely infectious virus.” To do this good hygiene is a must and adults must be vaccinated.
Quick Thoughts
COVID-19 numbers are surging in Lea County. If not vaccinated you have a good chance of becoming infected. The level of strain on the county’s medical staff and facilities is high. Often emergency rooms are filled with COVID patients not individuals with medical emergencies. High numbers of school-aged children are getting sick.
Residents are starting to admit a problem exists. The percentage of folks 18 and older getting vaccinated countywide is increasing. Everyone can help to bring down COVID numbers. The Lea County website provides helpful information.
Photo by Martin Sanchez / Upsplash
