A message from Melham Medical Center CEO, Veronica Schmidt to our community:
Melham Medical Center and all hospitals in the state of Nebraska and surrounding region are experiencing peak patient volumes. We are currently in week 5 of a patient surge locally. The hospital has increased staffing and other resources to meet the need, however as current trends continue, the care needs will far surpass local and regional resources.
Melham Medical Center currently operates a 7-bed COVID unit to care for positive COVID patients. This unit has been running 6-7 patients consistently. As hospital beds in our state and region become increasingly unavailable, it has become more difficult to transfer patients in need of a higher level of care for any medical reason, not just COVID-related reasons.
Local healthcare providers are urging our community members to please take all precautions to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and the stress on our local healthcare staff. Please put the health of our community first and wear a mask, socially distance, avoid gatherings of any size, wash your hands frequently, and stay home when you are sick or have been exposed to COVID-19.
Making the choice to utilize the public health measures listed above is the best support you can give to our healthcare team right now. Please make the health of our community a priority and please do it now.
