Our community is going through a very difficult time right now. We have dozens of fires burning across Douglas County, a heatwave & thick smoke canceling events, and our ICU and hospital are filling with COVID-19 patients. We are in Region 3 (Coos, Curry, Douglas & Lane County), and out of 91 ICU beds, 86 are listed as full. That’s also just on paper, it doesn’t mean there are actually 5 available ICU beds. ICUs all across Oregon are on the brink of being full, meaning it might not be possible to transfer patients out of the area soon. Our cases and subsequent hospitalizations are setting new record levels every few days. Things could possibly get worse for several weeks to come. Calling the current situation difficult on our local healthcare workers is a significant understatement. Our hospitalized residents and our healthcare workers caring for them need our support. Our government leaders at every level are facing impossible situations where they receive heavy criticism no matter what they do. These leaders need our support. Let’s find ways to help, support, and encourage these healthcare workers and leaders that are doing their best in very difficult circumstances. 🤙 The graph below shows the number of new cases each day over the past month and the total number of residents hospitalized.