National Guard resources arrive at Billings clinic

Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” (2) – 9/16/21

Gov. Greg Gianfote announced this week that ten National Guardsmen have arrived at Billings Clinic to help the hospital with their COVID-19 response. As of Sept. 13, the clinic is caring for 70 COVID patients with 25 in the ICU and 13 on ventilators. Six of those patients are receiving care in overflow spaces, a situation CEO Dr. Scott Ellner calls a “crisis.” “The patients we’re seeing are not only sicker, they’re younger, we’re being depleted with our workforce, and we’ve lost several people across health care,” Ellner told the Helena Independent Record. “People are tired and incredibly frustrated. We’re worried that the public doesn’t understand.”