As Mississippi continues to fight against the coronavirus pandemic, questions about the capacity of hospitals and the number of hospital beds still loom.
President and CEO of the Mississippi Hospital Association Tim Moore joined The Gallo Show on Friday to answer such questions.
Moore told Paul Gallo that there is an “abundance” of open hospital beds in the state of Mississippi.
“Yesterday, I think we were looking at over 200 ICU beds available and somewhere around 2,700 hospital beds open, and that’s not counting UMMC,” Moore said.
2,900 open beds—not including one of the state’s largest hospitals in UMMC—is an assuring number, but Moore thinks this number may be a little too assuring as people struggling from non-coronavirus medical symptoms are hesitant to go to the hospital.
“For other folks that need medical attention, the emergency room is there, and it’s always been there,” Moore said.
The longtime hospital executive not only urged people who need non-coronavirus care to use the emergency room but also clarified that the emergency room is not for people who think they might have COVID-19. That is why testing sites are set up across the state.
“We didn’t communicate that as well as we should have,” Moore continued. “Our hospitals are always there to do what they need to do to take care of patients.”
To hear the full interview with Moore, check out the video below.
