COVID numbers down slightly

Hospitalizations have gone down, but COVID continues to tax Odessa’s hospitals and staff both in terms of exhausting staff and finances.

During Monday’s COVID Zoom call with local health officials, the topic of finances was at the forefront as Ector County commissioners are scheduled to discuss Tuesday how to administer the County’s portion of the American Rescue Plan Act funding.

Both Medical Center Hospital and Odessa Regional Medical Center requested funding from Ector County in August.

MCH CEO Russell Tippin asked the county for $7 million and detailed that the county could get that $7 million and the $2.5 million requested by ORMC back through a FEMA program.

Both MCH and ORMC were awarded a portion of the City of Odessa’s ARPA funding recently. Both Tippin and ORMC CEO Stacey Brown have praised city officials for their quick decision on the funding. The County response has not been quick.

On Monday, County Judge Debi Hays said the county may hire an outside agency to help administer the county rescue funds. She praised the work of the local hospitals and said they were heroes, but also said the ARPA funding should not just go to large institutions. She said both hospitals have received millions of dollars in federal funding and also millions from the city. “You don’t want entities that have other supplies of money to keep getting all the money,” Hays said.

Tippin said he went before the commissioners in the summer and detailed how the County could help the hospitals and still get that money back from FEMA. “I know the court has not reached out (since then),” Tippin said. “The judge has not reached out … We just keep pressing forward.”

Brown added that the ARPA funding from the City comes with a contract that requires both hospitals to see that the City has the paperwork needed to recover the funding they earmarked for the hospitals. “It is absolute documentation of that,” Brown said.
Tippin said the City has set the standard for how to communicate with other entities. “It’s frustrating to have to rehash all this when there is no communication from the other side … The one thing that has remained consistent is that patients need us. Not just Odessa, but all the counties of West Texas. … These are tax dollars … We are just trying to pump that into the taxpayer laying in the hospital bed.”

Tippin addressed the question of how much funding do the hospitals need.

“This pandemic has been focused around one thing,” he said. “How important the quality and availability of health care is. No other industry has faced what the health industry has faced. The question of how much money we need is more than the County could ever have. What we have asked the County is to meet an immediate need, which is staffing and equipment … The real dollars go back into the system for patient-facing care.”

He said no one knows how important nurses, housekeepers, doctors and other workers are until “you are the patient laying in bed wondering” where health care is. “Medical Center is doing the best we can do … anything any group can do for the hospital is a blessing.”

MCH had 69 COVID patients on Monday with 28 in critical care and 20 on ventilators. ORMC had 18 with 13 in ICU and seven on ventilators.

COVID news/reminders

>> On Monday, President Biden received his COVID-19 booster shot at the White House. Last week, the CDC recommended Pfizer boosters for older adults, long-term care facility residents, some people with underlying health conditions and adults at increased risk of COVID-19 because of their jobs. About 20 million Americans are eligible for a third shot of the Pfizer vaccine.

>> The Urgent Care on 42nd Street remains closed. All staff has been relocated to JBS Parkway and Westside.

Need a vaccine?

>> The City of Odessa, University of Texas Permian Basin and the Ector County Health Department will continue a COVID-19 vaccination clinic. The clinic will begin Tuesday and is open Tuesdays–Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the UTPB soccer complex parking lot.

>> Drivers are asked to not line up on the Highway 191 frontage road. First and second shots will be offered. Third shots will be available for those who have passed the 6-month threshold, unless a doctor’s note is provided.

>> Information on booster shots is subject to change in accordance with CDC guidelines. The vaccination clinic is open to the public. Five-hundred (500) vaccines are available each day. No appointment or pre-registration is needed. Both Pfizer and Moderna will be available.

>> Bring a vaccination card (wait times are expected to increase without vaccination card) and your driver’s license.