Mississippi hospital CEO: ‘Our nurses have seen things that are just unconscionable’ in COVID-19 fight

Published 9:58 am Monday, August 9, 2021

Officials at one Mississippi hospital said the conditions are “indescribable” as the staff battles the onslaught of new COVID-19 patients.

Singing River Health System, a hospital system based on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, reported its current COVID-19 case counts on social media late Sunday along with an ominous warning.

“Our situation is indescribable, as we bear witness to both the best & worst in people. Some of us will forever have traumatic images of human suffering burned into our minds while fighting to save lives alongside one another.”

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Singing River is one of a number of hospitals across the state reported being overwhelmed as cases of the delta variant of the virus skyrocket.

Mississippi has reported more than 28,000 new cases of the virus in the last 14 days. The current 7-day average number of new cases is at the third-highest level since the pandemic began in March 2020.

Singing River Health Systems CEO Lee Bonds was interviewed last week by WLOX-TV.

“It’s bad,” he said. “I have seen things with my eyes that I wish, images that will be there forever. And our nurses have seen things that are just unconscionable. … The stress on them is unimaginable.”