Desoto County NewsMississippi News

New order made to aid bed availability

MSDH mandates licensed hospital participation

The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) is issuing a statewide order making participation in Mississippi COVID System of Care Plan mandatory for all licensed hospitals effective as of 12 noon Tuesday. The order will continue until Jan. 23 unless revoked prior to that time.

Due to the current wave of COVID-19 and limited ICU availability, and the inability of ill patients in rural areas to access care, MSDH is activating this Limited System of Care Plan. All Mississippi hospitals must participate in the plan to allow the most critically ill patients to be transferred for care while not overburdening any hospital.

This approach is more focused than the prior Order because it only includes situations such as:

  • Heart attacks
  • Strokes
  • Immediate neurosurgical intervention (such as a severe car accident)
  • Transplant patients with complications
  • Ventilated patients at a hospital without an ICU, respiratory therapy or a ventilator)

Mississippi MED-COM will direct patients to available beds, and when no beds are available, to hospital destinations on a rotating basis based on geography and resource availability.

MSDH Tuesday released a graph to indicate that virtually all reported cases of coronavirus in Mississippi are now of the Omicron variant.

Information as of Jan. 11. (Credit MSDH)

MSDH also Tuesday released an update on cases and victims related to coronavirus Tuesday morning. Three additional death reports came from DeSoto County during the period of Jan. 6-10.  

Here are the hospitalizations reported to MSDH from Mississippi hospitals on Jan. 11. 

Jan. 11 COVID-19 hospitalization trends in Mississippi hospitals. (Credit MSDH)
Baptist-DeSoto report as of Jan. 11. (Credit MSDH)
Methodist-Olive Branch hospitalization report on Jan. 11. (Credit MSDH)

Bob Bakken

Bob Bakken provides content for DeSoto County News and its social media channels. He is an award-winning broadcaster, along with being a reporter and photographer, and has done sports media relations work with junior and minor league hockey teams. Along with his reports on this website, you will find this veteran media member providing sports updates and high school football play-by-play on Rebel 95.3 FM Radio.