BILLINGS — The COVID-19 pandemic continues to overwhelm Billings hospitals.
Billings Clinic had to call in reinforcements from the U.S. Navy — a group of 20 doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists working on the front lines — earlier in November.
They’ve been invaluable, according to CEO Scott Ellner, so much so the hospital can’t afford to have them leave anytime soon.
"We’d like to hire them all," Ellner said, eliciting a laugh all around the Mary Alice Fortin Health Conference Center on Tuesday morning.
It was a small moment of levity in an otherwise serious conversation that included the Navy’s Surgeon General, Rear Admiral Bruce Gillingham.
Navy teams have been deployed to nine different states over the past three months, and Gillingham noted Billings is in bad shape.
"Given the severity of illness here, the team is finding it as challenging if not more challenging," he said. "I think the hospital is well over 100% in terms of its in-person census."
Billings had 84 COVID-19 patients as of Monday, including 26 in the ICU.
Unlike National Guard units that have primarily helped with vaccinations and testing when helping hospitals, the Navy group has worked with the most dire cases.
"To a sailor, they’ve all told me this is the most meaningful thing they’ve done in their careers," Gillingham said.
The team may have helped the hospital civilian staff even more, not just providing additional resources but giving them hope.
"They need to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel," Ellner said. "We're not out of the woods yet. If we could leverage the surgeon general and his team for at least another few weeks, we’d love it."
The additional black cloud hanging over the situation?
Billings Clinic will need the help much longer if President Biden’s federal vaccine mandate goes into effect, with close to 1,500 employees still unvaccinated.
"The challenge is going to be that in the state of Montana, people will choose their personal freedoms, whether they are medical or religious. We want people to please consider getting vaccinated, but if they don't we're going to be in a situation where we may lose really good people." - Billings Clinic CEO Scott Ellner
It's an uncomfortable prospect in a healthcare world that already has too few people.