Altru busy with COVID but not at full capacity…yet

Hospitals in parts of the country are in need of relief as COVID-19 continues to spread – primarily among the unvaccinated.

The North Dakota Health Department reports 107 patients hospitalized around the state – with 18 in ICU’s.  On Thursday Altru in Grand Forks had 12 patients hospitalized due to COVID.

Altru has been contacted by health care providers from other states inquiring about bed capacity to see if they could accept patients with a variety of health concerns.  Those calls came from as far away as Nebraska…Oklahoma…and Texas.

An Altru spokesperson says they have not stopped any procedures or elective care surgeries due to the recent surge in COVID cases.  They add if patient numbers continue to climb that’s always a possibility – but they are not at that point.

In addition Altru has created a financial incentive package for staff who are able to commit to four weeks of full-time assignments in the inpatient areas.  Some of those temporary re-assignments begin next week.