Facing overcrowded emergency rooms, extended wait times, and a staffing shortage, Mercy Health Muskegon officials Wednesday addressed the media and called on the community for help.
Gary Allore is the President of Mercy Health Muskegon.
“We are seeing some extended wait times, but there are a lot of factors that go into that,” Allore said. “And I would say that the most contributing factor, is the length of the stay by patients in our organization.”
Meaning, Allore says, the average stay by patients is up by nearly 2 days, overcrowding the hospital and forcing people to sit in the waiting room.
Dr. Justin Grill is Mercy Health’s Chief Medical Officer. He went one step further, and says that with 60-70 percent of people in the ICU being unvaccinated people with COVID, he lays the blame squarely on those in the community who refuse to get the shot.
“All of our deaths in our hospital have been in the unvaccinated population. It really does create an unfortunate burden on our health system. One that honestly would be easily eliminated with more wide spread vaccination. It works. It keeps people out of the hospital. Equally important, it keeps people out of the ICU and prevents death.”
Grill pointed to the fact that Billions across the world have now been vaccinated, and the vaccines have been approved by the FDA.
In addition to getting the shot, Mercy Health officials Wednesday said the community could also help by researching where they should go to seek appropriate care instead of just showing up to the hospital.
