Odessa hospital doing better than most in coronavirus closure

ODESSA — Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center Administrator Emmett Schuster on Monday, April 20, provided an update on steps being taken on the medical campus.

To date, he said, there have been no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in here.

Schuster complimented area residents for continuing to stay somewhat isolated, adding that the hospital and Quail Court Assisted Living still have a no-visitors policy in effect.

The hospital emergency room remains open, and ambulance crews continue to respond to emergencies throughout the town and countryside, while taking the necessary precautions for their own health, he said.

The physical therapy department is also operating, for those in need of its services, and outpatient surgeries may soon become available again, he said.

Other rural hospitals in our area have been reporting devastating financial losses during this mandated shutdown of non-essential services.

Schuster said that Odessa Memroial has not been as devastated because the previous administration had been saving funds for the installation of a new electronic records system.

For now, he said, the hospital is not in dire financial straits.

Nearby, officials at East Adams Regional Healthcare say their facility is losing an estimated $400,000 in monthly revenue. And hospitals in Colfax and Pullman have cut staff and reduced wages due to the lack of patients.

Motel helping out

Schuster has been in touch with the Lincoln County Health Department, which has a program to house people at the Collage Inn motel if they are unable to go straight home following a hospital stay due to various safety-related circumstances.

Nursing staff from the hospital handles the care of patients at the motel until they are able to return home. Schuster said the program benefits both a local business and the patients.

Once patients do return home, telemedicine is helping to maintain contact with them while they continue with social distancing, he said.

In communicating with federal health officials, Schuster said a fall resurgence of the number of COVID-19 cases is possible and that preparaitons are needed now.

Schuster said he appreciates the understanding of the community during these trying times.