UPDATE: Are Hospitals in Sioux Falls at Capacity?

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Cory linked some stories that should be concerning;

UPDATE: After talking to some people in healthcare in Sioux Falls, there has been some clarity on the issue. The hospitals are NOT at capacity, but are experiencing a higher number of patients (not Covid related).

Today, Avera and Sanford are starting to fill up their beds in Sioux Falls. I talked with both of them in the past few days. They’re busy. That’s also not uncommon. There have been times pre-COVID when our hospitals have been full or nearly full. They don’t build the church for Christmas, as the saying goes.

This may have a little to do with some people putting off medical care when this Spring many were not going to the hospital for other ailments. This was mentioned in the City Council informational. Another reason some patients may be transferred is that the local health systems are trying to maintain open beds as we continue to surge, in other words preparing themselves if more people are hospitalized. I guess Avera and Sanford plan to hold a press conference Monday to update us.

South Dakota is seeing its highest COVID-19 hospitalization numbers so far. While state health officials insist there’s plenty of capacity statewide, some patients are being diverted hours away from home—and even out of state.

She did not directly address hospital capacity in Sioux Falls. Avera will not release numbers, and Sanford has not responded to a request for this story.

We were told on Tuesday at the Sioux Falls City Council Informational Meeting that the hospitals are managing capacity just fine.

Last night an anonymous source told me that at least ONE of our major hospitals is possibly at capacity (regular and ICU beds) and has been transferring Covid patients out of Sioux Falls. They have even been keeping Covid patients at one of their speciality hospitals because of the lack of beds in the main hospital. There is also rumors that there are very long waits for a bed if you show up with an emergency (Covid or other). But what makes this even more concerning is that a lot of the small town & reservation hospitals have been transferring patients here while their hospitals have plenty of beds. I assume this is because they are not prepared to care for Covid patients. I guess healthcare workers at this hospital are getting very nervous that this game of transfers and whack a mole is NOT sustainable, especially if we continue to spike. Like I said, I got this from an anonymous source, so I have NO idea how much is true. But the timing of the SDPB story linked above and my anonymous source has me thinking that some of this is true.

I’m not sure who is controlling the narrative here, but we need to be honest and upfront with the public. I know many people in local government and in private non-profit healthcare HATE transparency because they think if the public knows too much they may panic or be a danger to themselves. But that’s just the right-wing hogwash that has been peddled on us for far to long.

If our hospitals in Sioux Falls are at capacity or very close, the time to tell the public is right NOW!

Events Center Complex loses $2.5 million in past year

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Of course, it was no surprise they lost this much, it was just a little unusual we heard it at a SF City Council informational meeting from the finance director. The complex (EC, CC and Arena) was probably expected to lose money during Covid, but as I have mentioned over the past few days and weeks, the Denty hasn’t exactly been that stellar in attendance for well over a year and trust me, the bleeding of the complex will continue well into 2021.

What was not included in the discussion is the $10 million a year bond payment the taxpayers will continue to have to pay out of our 2nd penny (which should be spent on needed infrastructure and roads). We will also have to keep the lights and heat on as well and timely maintenance while the city’s finance director has given sponsors a pass on paying their dues.

While the management company has said they laid off many people, what they didn’t mention is if the executives took a pay cut? I mean really? What are you doing right now? I can only imagine they have all built George Costanza beds under their desks. Why not just furlough the entire management company until we can start booking shows again? Why are the taxpayers subsidizing these salaries?

The Washington Pavilion, as I understand, cut 25% of their workforce, for that very reason, if you have no shows, you don’t need people to work them.

As I said, the Denty was already bleeding, and this place will eventually become the dented up yolk around taxpayers necks for decades. I don’t expect the place to turn a profit again for at least 5 years, but that’s okay, we can keep digging into the taxpayer’s pockets even though almost 50% voted against it.

Mitchell, SD has it’s fair share of Village idiots

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I’m sure you may have seen this video. There are many things difficult to understand here, but than I remember this happened in Mitchell, SD.

First off, if someone asks you to wear a mask, just do it. It’s not political, and no one is stealing your civil liberties. It is obvious this doofus showed up to the meeting to cause trouble because he wasn’t going to wear a mask.

But secondly, whether you agree with his stance or not, police CANNOT enforce a school ‘mandate’. A mandate is NOT  law, it’s a firm suggestion. Not to mention, this occurred in a public building that this person owns. The officers did do something right, they didn’t arrest the fellar, because if they would have, he could have sued their butts off.

Besides the failings of this gentleman trying to prove how much he supports Trump or mask ignorance in general, and the blatant disregard of law by the police officers, remember, wearing masks is good (indoors) and don’t infringe on your civil rights, and if you are NOT breaking the law, you don’t have to listen to the police. There always seems to be this belief that you must let officers detain you because they are officers. But if they can’t tell you what law you are breaking, they can’t arrest you. Mr. Mitchell Doofus wasn’t breaking any laws, just the law of common sense. And if that is against the law, they need to arrest a lot of people.

Noem stiffs struggling South Dakota workers while bailing out their low wage employers

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Well, I am not surprised, I knew Noem would find a way to bail out businesses instead of workers with the Covid money;

Gov. Kristi Noem will use nearly a third of the $1.25 billion in pandemic relief funds that South Dakota received this spring for a small business grant program.

Noem announced via her social media accounts Thursday afternoon that $400 million in CARES Act dollars allocated to South Dakota will be designated for small businesses that have suffered during the coronavirus pandemic.

Of course, we all know what a government ‘grant’ is, it is a handout, never to be paid back, and highly unlikely to trickle down to these business’ employees.

I suggested early on that this money go directly to individual South Dakotans so they could it invest back into our communities, whether that is paying bills or saving money for healthcare or for higher education, instead, she does what she does best, piss it down the legs of businesses that will hardly trickle that golden shower down onto the rest of us. I would really like to see how much of this money will be used to expand these businesses and hire more workers at living wages or a way for them to just pay off debt. I’m sure the legislature will conduct a study on it next year. Yeah right.

Taxpayers may have to bailout the Pavilion

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Hey, I don’t blame the Pavilion for having to cancel their shows, Covid has wreaked havoc on the entertainment industry;

The Washington Pavilion has canceled its 2020-21 Performance Series, which would have brought hit shows such as “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Hairspray” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” to Sioux Falls.

Many Broadway tours have been put on hold or canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a letter to supporters, the Pavilion said it is working to rebook as many shows from this season as it can for next season.

This will hit the Pavilion hard since they depend on this revenue to float them each year. In fact the Pavilion has made money from these shows over the years and if they didn’t have to float the arts center and science centers (which lose money) the Pavilion would have been very profitable. The problem is they don’t split the pot of money up between the entities, they just move it around.

Of course they have a plan, not a very good one mind you;

While refunds will still be offered, the loss of the tours has put the Pavilion “in a very challenging situation,” Smith said. “As a nonprofit reliant on ticket sales, sponsorships and gifts of support from the community, the loss of these tours – a $3 million impact – has put the organization in a very challenging situation. We are asking our loyal customers – if they are able – for their support at this unprecedented time.”

In all reality, it will probably be the taxpayers that will have to bailout the Pavilion during this down economy. But we have already been giving it millions in maintenance for years. It is what I suspected it would turn into, a money pit, and the Events Center and Aquatic Center are not to far behind.