Montana Hospital Association

A bill introduced in the Montana Legislature would allow employees for health care facilities and insurance companies to abstain from participating in cases they morally object to. Opponents worry it will lead to discrimination.

Gov. Greg Gianforte is urging unvaccinated health care workers to consider using religious and medical exemptions ahead of an upcoming federal vaccine mandate deadline. Gianforte says health care workers should evaluate all their options.

COVID cases over the past week have more than doubled and the number of new cases added each day is growing. Hospitalizations in recent weeks have dropped coming off the state’s recent wave fueled by the Delta variant.

As COVID-19 hospitalizations statewide decline, at least one hospital has moved away from rationing care. But many large hospitals are still struggling with patient loads and staffing.

“Everybody is hard-up for concentrators. We have never run into this kind of shortage. We’ve been sending people home with these oxygen concentrators in record numbers and it’s stressed our supply.”

As COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations decline across the country, the pandemic in Montana has continued to get worse. The average number of hospitalizations grew by nearly 40% over the past month. Health care workers are trying to keep up, and some are pushing the state to do more to help.

Gov. Greg Gianforte announced Friday evening that his administration issued a new emergency rule that he says will help transfer patients out of overburdened large hospitals faster, freeing up more beds.

As COVID-19 cases surge, hospitals say they can’t get enough staff to keep up. Gov. Greg Gianforte’s administration says it’s collaborating with hospitals as needs arise.

As hospitals overflow in Idaho, COVID-positive patients there looking for care in Montana won’t find many empty rooms. Montana is dealing with its own needs for staffing and bed capacity.

The Montana Hospital Association this week formally requested that Gov. Greg Gianforte’s administration use federal COVID relief money to acquire more medical staff. Some County health departments in Montana are struggling to keep up with contact tracing as new cases of coronavirus are on the rise.