CORBIN, Ky. (WYMT) – One Southern Kentucky doctor said we are in the middle of a COVID outbreak, but cases are mild.
“We are seeing much more than 2 months ago, where we got to just to one, or two or three cases a day,” said Dr. David Worthy, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President at Baptist Health Corbin. “So, we’re higher than that, we’re somewhere between 10 and 20.”
Viruses change through mutation, meaning sometimes the mutations result in a new variant of a virus. Doctors said we are seeing the BA4 and BA5 omicron variants.
“Just like the flu, you can have a mild drift where the genetic code shifts a little bit,” he said. “You can kind of get it again – becomes contagious, or you can have a major shift in which you kind of have a really strong variant – that happened from like the original to delta.”
He said hospitals in general are struggling, not because of COVID-19 patients, but because they can not find employees to take care of their COVID and non-COVID patients.
“What’s worrisome is even a minor surge come this fall, it’s going to be very difficult to take care of those folks because we have less staff,” he added.
A lot of younger nurses are turning to travel nursing.
“They’re not onboarded at orientation like the rest of them, and so, that’s what’s creating a problem right now,” Worthy said. “It’s a substantial problem across Kentucky and much of the nation.”
He added the hospital is working in incentives for staff.
“We’re looking at first getting the salary right, we’re looking at a cafeteria of benefits,” he added. “You know, we’re looking at increasing help with educational assistance.”
Worthy said the hospital is also training nurses through externship programs.
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