As omicron spreads, Cass County hospital sees highest number of COVID patients at once
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, driven largely by the omicron variant, a Cass County hospital is seeing its highest volume of coronavirus patients since the beginning of the pandemic.
Cass Regional Medical Center was treating 15 patients for COVID-19 as of last week, the most ever at once, hospital spokeswoman Sonya McLelland told The Star. The number of coronavirus patients stood at 12 as of Monday, 10 of whom had not been vaccinated.
The publicly-owned hospital, based in Harrisonville, has 21 beds in its medical surgical unit, four dedicated to intensive care and another 10 for its behavioral health unit. It is overseen by a board of trustees elected by Cass County residents, and typically experiences about 75,000 patient visits annually.
The hospital, which employs around 470 staff, is also seeing an uptick in employees out of the office. Fifteen people were out as of Monday with confirmed cases of COVID-19 or awaiting test results, McLelland said.
Metropolitan and rural hospitals alike are seeing the effects of a new wave of COVID-19 as higher case loads and a diminished workforce create compounding challenges for health care workers.
Meanwhile, leaders from many areas have relaxed or abandoned public health safety measures put in place with the aim of reducing community transmission.
Last month, Cass County leaders passed a resolution ending its public health order and limiting the authority of the local public health director. In the resolution, the Cass County Commission said it “believes in the importance of individual freedom” and that “no resident should be forced to quarantine or isolate” because of COVID-19.
At the time, Cass County had recorded 333 cases in a week and one death. Less than half of the county’s population — 47% — had been fully vaccinated.
As of Monday, there had been 528 confirmed cases over the past week, along with two deaths associated with COVID-19. Roughly 48% of county residents are fully vaccinated, and 53% have started the vaccination process, according to the state health department.
The Star’s Aaron Torres contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 3, 2022 at 4:50 PM.
