The rapidly increasing number of new COVID-19 cases in Montana and Wyoming is resulting in more people requiring in-patient hospital care.
Billings Clinic is now opening up additional hospital bed space as in-patient volumes surge.
St. John's United, which operates a nursing home in town, is helping out by offering a 12-unit building that was vacated in March for situations like this.
Billings Clinic will use rooms at the Powers Cottage for less acute patients and those being transferred there will not have COVID-19.
"We've seen a tremendous surge, particularly over the last week," said Dr. Scott Ellner, Billings Clinic CEO. "(Thursday), we had over 50 patients that were COVID positive that've been admitted to Billings Clinic and it's really stretching our resources here on site at our health campus. So St. John's offered the opportunity to provide us the housing and the beds and we're partnering with them, providing our staff to care for those patients."
"This is a community problem needing community solutions," said David Trost, St. John's United President & CEO.
