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Press Release: Gov. Little launches COVID-19 antibody treatment centers, directs relief funds to increase hospital capacity

By • August 28, 2021

Governor Brad Little sent out the following Press Release regarding anti-body treatment centers and funds for increased hospital capacity:

Boise, Idaho – As Idaho hospitals continue to be overwhelmed with unvaccinated COVID-19 patients, limiting healthcare access for everyone, Governor Brad Little announced today he is taking additional steps to assist Idahoans and relieve the growing burden on our healthcare system.

Three COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment facilities will be stood up in North Idaho, eastern Idaho, and the Treasure Valley. Monoclonal antibody treatment involves therapeutic medications that are proving to be effective in keeping people from getting severely ill and requiring hospitalization after contracting COVID-19. The centers will help preserve hospital bed capacity for the severely ill.

Specific information about the exact location of the treatment centers will be made available in the coming days. Additional treatment centers may be added later.

Patients visiting the treatment centers must have a referral from a doctor. The treatments are free.

“There are too many unvaccinated people in our hospitals right now. We need to reduce the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations so everyone else can continue to access healthcare for strokes, heart attacks, car accidents, and other emergencies. We need more Idahoans to choose to receive the vaccine. Receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is the most effective way to minimize the spread of the disease to the vulnerable. Receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is also the most effective way to minimize your own risk of hospitalization from the disease. In addition, the new COVID-19 antibody treatment centers should help preserve bed capacity by preventing hospitalization for some people who contract the disease,” Governor Little said.

North Idaho will be the priority, where vaccination rates are among the lowest in the state and where local hospitals are overwhelmed with unvaccinated COVID-19 patients, limiting healthcare access for everyone else.

The new antibody treatment centers come in addition to antibody treatments already provided by hundreds of private healthcare providers across Idaho.

In addition, Governor Little said he is directing $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to address constraints and emerging needs in Idaho hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. The funds will be used to make more physical space available to provide care for COVID-19 patients, address staffing shortages caused by workers getting sick or being exposed to the disease, and safely transition patients out of hospital settings to free up bed capacity.

“All of our hospitals, large and small, are asking more and more of our staff as our COVID hospitalizations continue to increase,” said Dr. Rachel Gonzales, CEO of Madison Memorial Hospital in Rexburg and chair of the Idaho Hospital Association Board of Directors. “This additional funding will help us recognize them for their heroic efforts and fill in some of the gaps where we are stretched so thin.”

“In a rural community where staff recruitment was difficult long before COVID, this will be a big help in retaining quality providers in our community during this crisis,” said Lenne Bonner, CEO of Clearwater Valley Health in Orofino and St. Mary’s Health in Cottonwood. “I appreciate the flexibility the Governor is giving all of us to use this money where it will help us and our community the most.”

“The staffing shortage facing senior care facilities is so severe that many facilities cannot accept new patients who desperately need care. This relief will help facilities find the staff necessary to provide quality care to their current patients and will enable facilities to accept new patients, which helps hospitals address the surge they are currently facing,” said Robert Vande Merwe, executive director of the Idaho Healthcare Association. 

Since the COVID-19 vaccine was made widely available to everyone in May, nearly all COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths are among the unvaccinated.

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Tags: American Rescue Plan Act, Brad Little, Covid Anti-Body, Covid-19, Hospital Capacity

12 thoughts on “Press Release: Gov. Little launches COVID-19 antibody treatment centers, directs relief funds to increase hospital capacity

  1. Statewide HHS data:
    https://public.tableau.com/views/DPHIdahoCOVID-19Dashboard/ER?%3Aembed=y&%3AshowVizHome=no&%3Adisplay_count=y

    Hover over the dates and see what percent of emergency room visits are Covid-19 and how many were admitted to the hospital. Also notice the previous visits, admissions and percentages for the last 6 months. Other tabs have more information such as how many in ICU etc.
    “As Idaho hospitals continue to be overwhelmed with unvaccinated COVID-19 patients” “There are too many unvaccinated people in our hospitals right now.” “hospitals are overwhelmed with unvaccinated COVID-19 patients, limiting healthcare access for everyone else.” “Since the COVID-19 vaccine was made widely available to everyone in May, nearly all COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths are among the unvaccinated.” Really?
    No matter how much the MSM tries to hide it we have countless reports of everyone from Congress to baseball teams fully vaccinated getting it. Somehow it appears that very sick people don’t deserve the beds they are in because they are not vaccinated. And could this “shortage” of staff be from a MANDATE from Health care employers to get vaccinated?
    Instead of opening these centers as a benefit to Idaho the Governor has taken this opportunity to attack our personal God given freedoms and jump on the anti-vax smearing political bandwagon. I’m ashamed

  2. Interesting that a doctor’s approval is needed to be treated.
    Many People have lost faith in our hospitals entirely and with the doctor’s under bureaucratic control, not as many People will see a doctor.
    Treatment Center’s must be open to the People to walk in, in order to be effective.

    Wonder what the motivation is for our governor and staff to continually misrepresent statistics and fact in order to control the People???

  3. If Gov. Little cared about COVID hospitalizations, he would tell doctors to use ivermectin and tell the hospitals to not mandate COVID vaccines because many staff are leaving. These are why they are having staffing problems.

  4. Unlike Florida, you need a Doctor’s approval in Idaho. In Florida, to cut out the medical industrial complex, Governor DeSantis allows anyone to come in to get treated without a doctor’s referral at their monoclonal antibody treatment centers. Governor Little just doesn’t seem to get it.

    We don’t trust the government, nor the CDC or the pharmaceutical companies. It might be time to get a new governor.

  5. How about you do something about the out of control population growth? We wouldn’t have as many sick people if so many from blue states would quit moving here. We were fine until tyrannical governors drove their citizens into our back yard.

  6. STOP telling us to get the vaccine ya butthole !!!!!! Just do you’re job and keep you’re personal vaccine thoughts to yourself !! Take an extra vaccine BOOSTER for me and my family, since there will be plenty of them left as this house won’t be using any of them ! !

    Little, Shut you’re mouth about us getting the vaccine ! We haven’t gotten it for a reason. Back off damnit.

  7. So… study after study confirming that large percentages of the infected AND the hospitalized are in fact vaccinated…

    study after study confirming that vaccinated people are in fact carriers / superspreaders because they have no ACTUAL immunity, but are roaming around with a false sense of security because GOVERNMENT sold a TREATMENT that lessens symptoms in most people as an actual VACCINE when it’s not…

    and this douchebag just throws this bullshit out there as though it’s fact, attacking people for not trusting pharma and government… two of the most widely proven as untrustworthy entities over generations. Idaho… you can do better. This simp can’t be the best you’ve got.

  8. It’s not just the B.S. vaccine they are pushing but the so called variants as well. It’s all about Lining the pockets of big pharma , Dems & Rino’s (which our state has it’s fair share of). The government won’t talk about Therapeutics because there’s no $$$$ in it for them and there big pharma buddies. We the people know Therapeutics actually work. Shame on these bureaucratic tyrants.
    God bless you Senator Zito for standing up.

  9. Here is what I wrote to Kootenai Health here in North Idaho.

    I am curious as to why Kootenai Health is not listed as a healthcare provider for monoclonal antibody therapeutic treatment on the government’s HHS website. [ https://protect-public.hhs.gov/pages/therapeutics-distribution ]

    The two nearest locations to receive such COVID19 treatments, such as Bamlanivimab (Eli Lilly), the combo therapy Bamlanivimab/Etesevimab (Eli Lilly), and the therapeutic cocktail Casirivimab/Imdevimab (Regeneron) are in Sandpoint or St. Maries.

    Considering KH’s stated commitment to our community in fighting Covid19, it is extremely irresponsible to not have these treatments on hand and available for our community.
    __
    They responded on Friday with…

    “Thank you for reaching out to Kootenai Health.

    Kootenai just opened a monoclonal antibody treatment clinic today.”
    __
    Gee, what took so long? The politicization of health with respect to Covid is literally killing people. Early treatments are being censored, proven hospital treatments are not available (until now), and nurses and doctors are at each other’s throat while at work because half are vaxxxed and half are not.
    Just treat people!

  10. We DO NOT TRUST RINO LITTLE! The govt. has done a terrific job of destroying the people’s faith in them. It will take a long time if ever to regain it. We need a new governor who believes in the U.S. Constitution with its Bill of Rights for the Freedom of the People. Not Communism!

  11. The State of Idaho is engaged in disinformation. It is NOT the UNvaccinated that are spreading Covid, it is the Vaccinated that are. The gene therapies (aka “vaccines”) were only designed to replicated spike proteins from the original strain (where ever that came from) of Covid and any new variants are formed because they over signaled the antibodies to be created, along with replicated spike proteins. The Covid was forced to build variants that these dumb injections can’t stop. Your body will not recognize them. It WOULD have if left alone. Little et al have drunk the Covid Cult KoolAid and now push us to take their CLOT SHOT! I say they can POUND SAND!

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