COVID-19 surge preventing hospitals from discharging some patients

Jenna King August 6, 2021

Last Updated: August 6, 2021

SOUTHERN Ore. —As Covid-19 cases continue to surge in southern Oregon, bed capacity is an issue for local hospitals. We’re also learning, about why some people, aren’t able to leave hospitals.

Asante says it’s unable to discharge some patients, specifically those no longer needing hospital care, because they can’t go home yet. Long-term care facilities in the area, like skilled nursing facilities, are at or near capacity.

“It creates a backlog that backs up into the Emergency Department so that’s why you’re seeing so many people that are sick in the Emergency Department,” said CEO of Providence Medical Center, Chris Pizzi.

Providence says the problem is so bad in southern Oregon, it asked the state for some help to get more skilled nursing facility beds in place.

Jenna King

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Jenna King is the 6pm and 11pm anchor for NBC5 News. Jenna is a Burbank, CA native. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Sports Business. During her time at Oregon she was part of the student-run television station, Duck TV. She also grew her passion for sports through her internship with the PAC 12 Network. When Jenna is not in the newsroom you can find her rooting for her hometown Dodgers, exploring the outdoors or binging on the latest Netflix release.