BELIZE CITY, Tues. Oct. 12, 2021– Yesterday, the chairman of the board of governors of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital KHMH), Dr. Andre Sosa, provided local reporters with an update on what has been taking place at the national referral hospital when he was interviewed shortly after the handing over of a donation from Grace Kennedy Belize to the KHMH. Dr. Sosa indicated that some staff members remain off-duty while they are under observation or in quarantine. This is a reflection of the reality of community spread within the country, said Dr. Sosa.
“It is true that just like the rest of the country and indeed the city, we have had quite a number of staff come down with COVID and others who have been exposed and who are out for observation. Basically they are in quarantine. I think last week we had about 32 persons out, including persons diagnosed with COVID and others who are in isolation because of having been exposed,” Dr. Sosa said.
He also noted, though, that “very few of those instances of people becoming sick occurred within the hospital itself but rather outside in the community.”
Over the past week, according to Dr. Sosa, the number of ill patients admitted into the COVID-19 ward also surged beyond the number of beds that had been placed in the unit, which, according to most recent reports, contained 23 beds. Dr. Sosa reported that on Monday, 29 patients were admitted inside the Covid-19 ward, 11 of whom were in critical condition, and thus likely to require intensive care. Dr. Sosa further noted that, in fact, the number of persons admitted into the unit has at some points exceeded 30, within recent weeks.
As a result of the increased workload shouldered by KHMH staff due to the rapidly rising number of cases, the Ministry of Health and Wellness has given the hospital first preference in the hiring of recently graduated nurses, said Dr. Sosa. Additionally, said Dr. Sosa, a number of retired nurses have, upon request, returned to active duty and some have been rehired in an effort to address the shortage of healthcare workers at the hospital.
Additionally, in order to address the mounting psychological toll of the pandemic on KHMH staff, the hospital is currently providing counseling and psychological services to its staff.