In Arkansas and across the country, the number of new cases of Covid-19 have caused concern about the ability of healthcare workers and hospitals to keep up with the surging need for hospitalizations. Health officials have been begging people to forgo traditional large Thanksgiving gatherings and instead only celebrate with members of their household.
But TripAdvisor estimates that 50 percent of Americans planned to travel for Thanksgiving.
While the number of new cases of Covid-19 in Arkansas Thanksgiving week declined from the record of 2,312 on Nov. 13, the number of people hospitalized in Arkansas broke a new record Nov. 23 reaching 974. State Epidemiologist Dr. Jennifer Dillaha said of 1,136 intensive care unit beds in the state, only 76 were available.
Yet there is resistance to wearing masks and social distancing. Locally, some businesses are resistant to the mask mandate. Mayor Butch Berry says that the Arkansas Department of Health has required several businesses that had signs on their doors that masks weren’t required to remove those signs.
J.J. Galyen, assistant general manager of Hart’s Family Center, said that, for the most part, community members have been really good about wearing masks.
“I’ve noticed most of my problem has been tourists coming from Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas where they don’t have a mask mandate,” Galyen said. “We are working to get compliance with the masks mandate. Most people have been nice about it because I will hand them a mask and explain the law. Just a handful refuse. If they say they can’t wear a mask because of medical reasons, there is not much I can do. All of my employees have been on board with it since it started. That goes all the way from floor employees to upper management.”
Galyen said everyone needs to stick together.
“I may not enjoy wearing a mask, but it isn’t for me,” he said. “It is to keep others protected. It is part of being a community; we need to look out after each other.”
Sunfest Store Manager Will Rayburn said all he can do is inform customers there is a mask mandate in Arkansas. If people say they have a health issue, there is an exemption in state law for that, and Rayburn said there is nothing they can do.
“Every employee on the clock must have a mask on and I am surely reinforcing that,” Rayburn said. “We do have the mandated flyer on the door about the mask mandate and it is highlighted. But we can only inform people of the law, not enforce it. Someone can call the police, but the police don’t want to catch Covid.”
Resident Paula Koch said she is concerned seeing so many people not wearing masks.
“How will we be able to overcome this virus if people do not start following recommendations?” Koch asks. “We likely are months away from vaccine availability for most of us. I am following the advice of the experts. But, on a state level, there are some real gaps between the stated recommendations and the reality.”
Koch was shocked to see a recent announcement of the upcoming University of Arkansas graduation ceremonies in Fayetteville. An article in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette said three days of U of A commencement ceremonies in Bud Walton Arena have been approved by ADH. Plans submitted by the university list a total of 1,929 students registered to participate in ceremonies beginning Dec. 17. Each student is allowed up to six guests.
“Washington County has the second highest number of cases in the state,” Koch said. “How long will it be before Arkansas becomes El Paso, Texas, where refrigerator trucks are being used for the bodies because the morgues and funeral homes are at capacity? My sister-in-law is a nurse there, so my information is firsthand. How long will it be before we run out of hospital beds and need field hospitals? And beds are one thing, but who is going to give the care?”
Koch has four family members who are nurses. One is working 80 hours a week in a Covid unit. One holds multiple top management responsibilities, including where to put the deceased. One is a traveling nurse and now headed to a hot spot. And one took leave so she could take care of a family member and now has ended up volunteering at the facility because they have six staff members out with Covid.
“These four dedicated professionals are exhausted,” Koch said. “Do you think it will be different here? I have no idea why the entire mask wearing has become such a political/rights issue. But it has. I look back at my parent’s generation and the sacrifices they made during World War II. But now, there seems to be a mass rebellion in doing what is essential to counteract this unique virus. Why?”
Arkansas Center for Health Improvement President and CEO Dr. Joe Thompson said in an email that we have lost more than 2,000 Arkansans to Covid-19 and are on track to lose 1,000 more before Christmas.
“We are seeing new cases everywhere in the state, particularly in rural areas,” Thompson wrote. “A vaccine is coming, but until it gets here, we have an obligation to do everything we can. It is incumbent on our local political leaders, businesses, and faith leaders to use their positions in the community to encourage responsible behavior and lead by example.”
Washington Regional Medical Center spokesperson Natalie Harden said they have not transferred any patients to hospitals in Carroll County.
“We currently have the capacity to treat both Covid and non-Covid patients,” Hardin said. “However, we are concerned about the next two to four weeks. If cases continue to rise at the current rate, it could be challenging to meet the needs of our community. We have seen a pattern of increased demand for inpatient care following previous holidays, such as the 4th of July and Labor Day. Concerns about the growing rate of spread going into the Thanksgiving and Christmas season along with increased gatherings of more than ten people could further stress the already stressed health care systems.”
In addition to an increase in the number of Covid patients, Washington Regional is also seeing higher acuity non-Covid patients needing ICU care. The intensity of staffing in critical care and Covid units is much greater than the staffing needs of a typical medical surgical unit. Hardin said while there seems to be an adequate supply of physical beds across Northwest Arkansas, there is growing concern about the human resources needed to staff additional beds.