If Trend Continues, Ballad Could Be Forced To Prioritize Sickest Patients

Ballad Health could soon begin the process of prioritizing the sickest patients among the record 387 patients currently in the hospital with COVID 19. The health care provider’s CEO, Alan Levine says in a Twitter post, Monday’s record surpasses Sunday’s record by 13 patients. There are 90 patients in the ICU, and 65 of those are on ventilators, six children are also hospitalized at Niswonger Children’s Hospital. Levine says if the trend continues Ballad could see the number of patients jump to nearly 450 in a week to ten days and then hospital administrators would have to start looking at prioritizing those patients who are the sickest.