NO ONE SHOULD BE SURPRISED

 – By

There clearly is a lot of COVID19 going around.  It is impacting everyone. We have known that a surge like this was likely for the past eight months.  NO ONE SHOULD BE SURPRISED!

What has changed in the past eight months?

What has changed in the past eight months?

  • Healthcare providers now know more about how to treat COVID19 and therefore the virus is not as deadly than it was in the beginning, but it is still deadly.
  • Wearing masks are an inconvenience, an infringement on our freedoms, and frankly a political statement of independence. Masks are proven to be 60 to 90% effective.
  • COVID19 is a new virus. There are a number of tests developed to detect it, and more are being developed.  There are only 330 million people in the US.  After eight months, there are still not enough tests to test everyone when they want it, AND get the results in under an hour!  The testing capability is here, but we need to use the algorithm to quick test those with the highest need, the rest will be resulted anywhere from 24 hrs to a week.
  • When we thought the death rate from virus was over 10%, everyone was OK with quarantining. Now that the death rate is about 0.1%, we are angry that we need to quarantine.  537 people in SD have already died from this virus in the past seven months with most in the past two months.
  • COVID19 messaging is confusing! Protocols have changed. The school’s protocols have changed. Our community businesses protocols have changed, our neighboring schools, businesses, local governments, the state government, the federal government.
  • The hospital and clinic are not perfect. When someone calls three different nurses, regardless how hard they try - the person will not get the exact same response. It is like hiring three different tax accountants, three coaches, three farmers; everyone will have their own environment – did the nurse just come out of a COVID19 patient room or an ER trauma patient? The nurses will follow the same policy, but implement it to meet their interpretation of best patient outcome with the info they have and the parameters they require.

Let’s remember when we first learned about COVID 19 and the appreciation we had for the people: the teachers, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, grocery store workers, garbage collectors, bus drivers, janitors, and so many more. These people are the foundation of our society and keep us well in body and mind. Remember that appreciation when you call the hospital or clinic and are frustrated.

Remember you are not in this alone.

Statics curtsey of Avera Hand County Memorial Hospital


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