Too sick to go home but no room at hospitals, where do COVID-19 patients go to recover?

'There's got to be another way,' son o

'There's got to be another way,' son o

ROB WE JUST TOLD YOU A FEW : MINUTES AGO, NEBRASKA HOSPITALS ARE SEEING MORE COVID-19 PATIENTS THAN EVER BEFORE. BUT WHAT HAPPENS TO PATIENTS WHO AREN’T CRITICAL ENOUGH TO STAY THERE, BUT STILL TOO SICK TO GO HOME? JULIE: AN OMAHA FAMILY TELLS US THEIR LOVED ONE HAD NO PLACE TO GO. AS KETV NEWSWATCH 7’S MICHELLE BANDUR INVESTIGATES, THERE ARE OPTIONS IN NEBRASKA, INCLUDING ONE OFFERED BY THE STATE, JUST FOR THESE PANDEMIC PATIENTS. MICHELLE: BOTH DON AND SHANNON MEYER HAVE COVID-19. THEY’RE 85 YEARS OLD. SHANNON’S MORE SEVERE SYMPTOMS PUT HER IN LAKESIDE HOSPITAL. DON: SHE STARTED EXHIBITING , YOU KNOW, SEVERE WEAKNESS, SHORTNESS OF BREATH, SEVERE BACK AND NECK PAINS. MICHELLE: THEIR SON, DON JUNIOR, IS ALSO POSITIVE, EXPOSED BY HIS PARENTS DURING TRIPS TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM. THE FIRST ONE, OCTOBER 27. DOCTORS THOUGH SENT SHANNON BACK HOME TO MAPLE RIDGE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY. HOWEVER, THE NEXT DAY, DON TOOK HIS MOTHER BACK TO THE DOCTOR. DON: ONCE SAW CONDITION SHE WAS IN SENT HER BACK TO ER AT LAKESIDE AGAIN. MICHELLE: BUT LESS THAN ONE WEEK INTO HER HOSPITAL TREATMENT, DON RECEIVED A FRANTIC CALL FROM HIS DAD. DON: DUE TO THE SHORTAGE OF BEDS, THEY WANTED HER TRANSITION OUT, AND SINCE THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO GET HER INTO ANY REHAB FACILITY, THEY WERE GOING TO SEND HER HOME. MICHELLE: TO RECOVER AT HOME, SHANNON, WHO IS WHEELCHAIR-BOUND, NEEDS PRIVATE, IN-HOME CARE. BUT THE MEYER’S COULDN’T FIND ANYTHING AFFORDABLE SINCE SHE ALSO HAS THE CORONAVIRUS. DON: PRETTY HEFTY CHUNK OF MONEY OUT OF POCKET. MICHELLE: THEY WERE STUCK. DON: WHEN LOOKING AT NO PLACE FOR YOUR LOVED ONE TO GO, IT IS PRETTY FRUSTRATING. IT’S A BIG EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER. MICHELLE: SHANNON MEYER IS ONE OF THE UNKNOWN NUMBER OF POSITIVE COVID-19 PATIENTS WHO FALL SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN, NOT SICK ENOUGH TO RECEIVE THAT CRITICAL LEVEL OF CARE AT THE HOSPITAL BUT STILL TOO SICK TO RECOVER AT HOME. DON: THERE’S GOT TO BE ANOTHER WAY. THERE’S GOT TO BE SOMEPLACE ELSE. WHAT IS AVAILABLE? MICHELLE: FINDING FEW OPTIONS, THE MEYERS DISCOVERED A SAFE PLACE FOR SHANNON, NEARLY TWO HOURS AWAY IN CORNING, IOWA. CHI-HEALTH MERCY HAD A ROOM THROUGH WHAT’S CALLED SWING BED CRITICAL ACESS CARE. DON: SMALL HOSPITALS IN OUTLYING METRO AREA THAT WOULD TAKE PATIENCE AND CARE FOR THEM -- TAKE PATIENTS AND CARE FOR THEM UNTIL THEY ARE COVID FREE. MICHELLE: AS THE KETV NEWSWATCH 7 INVESTIGATES TEAM LOOKED FOR HELP, WE DISCOVERED A STATE PROGRAM CALLED THE NEBRASKA ACCOMMODATION PROJECT. >> IT IS NOT JUST DHHS. IT IS NOT THERE GOVERNMENT. IT IS A HOTEL. IT IS A MAID. MICHELLE: USING CARES ACT FUNDS, THE STATE CONTRACTS WITH HOTELS TO PROVIDE TEMPORARY HOUSING FOR PEOPLE IN SIMILAR SITUATIONS AS SHANNON MEYER. >> WE HAVE RN’S, CNA’S THAT DO ROUNDS PRINT THEY TAKE TEMPERATURES, CHECK THEIR PULSE OX. MICHELLE: HOTELS DESIGNATED FOR ISOLATION MAY PROVIDE ON-SITE HEALTH CARE OR TELE-HEALTH FOR POSITIVE PATIENTS WHO’VE BEEN EXPOSED BUT CAN’T GO HOME BECAUSE OF A HIGH-RISK FAMILY MEMBER. >> THAT SENSE OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT, THAT NEBRASKA STOP, WHERE WE STEPPED UP, SOMETIMES IT JUST MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN A PERSON’S LIFE. MICHELLE: AN OPTION MEYER WISH HE’D KNOWN ABOUT FOR HIS MOTHER, AND HE BELIEVES OTHER FAMILIES JUST GIVE UP AND GO HOME. DON: THERE ARE PROBABLY A LOT OF PPL GETTING CHECKED OUT THAT ARE PROBABLY THOSE THAT SHOULD NOT BE GOING HOME. MICHELLE: WE’VE LEARNED 400 NEBRASKANS HAVE ALREADY USED THE NEBRASKA ACCOMMODATION PROJECT. IF YOU NEED HELP, YOU’LL FIND THE LINK IN MY STORY AT KETV.COM. KETV NEWSWATCH 7. JULIE: THE STATE SAYS THE PROGRAM HAS HOTELS, SINCE THE TOURISM INDUSTRY MORE THAN 60 IS STRUGGLING. MORE THAN 60 HOTELS ACROSS NEBRASKA ARE TAKING PART RIGHT

Too sick to go home but no room at hospitals, where do COVID-19 patients go to recover?

'There's got to be another way,' son o

Don and Shannon Meyer, both 85 of Nebraska, both have COVID-19. Shannon's symptoms are more severe than her husband's."She started exhibiting severe weakness, shortness of breath, severe back and neck pain," said Don Meyer, the couple's son.He is positive too, exposed by his parents during trips to the emergency room. The first one was Oct. 27. Doctors sent Shannon back home to Maple Ridge Retirement Community. But the next day, Don Meyer took his mother back to the doctor."Once they saw the condition she was in, they sent her back to the ER at Lakeside Hospital again," Meyer said.But less than a week into her hospital stay, Meyer received a frantic call from his dad."Due to the shortage of beds, they wanted her to transition out and we were unable to get into any rehab facility. They were going to send her home," he said.To recover at home, Shannon, who uses a wheelchair, needs private in-home care. But the Meyers couldn't find anything affordable, due to her coronavirus diagnosis.They were stuck."When looking at no place for your loved one to go, it is pretty frustrating. It's a big emotional roller coaster."Shannon Meyer is one of the unknown numbers of positive patients who fall somewhere in between. They're not sick enough to receive that critical level of care at the hospital, but still too sick to recover at home."There's got to be another way. Is there someplace else? What is available?"Finding few options, the Meyers did find a safe place for Shannon nearly two hours away in Corning, Iowa. CHI-Health Mercy had a room through what's called 'swing bed critical access care.'"Small hospitals in the outlying metro-area take patients and care for them until they are COVID free," Meyer said. As sister staton KETV looked for help, they discovered a program called the Nebraska Accommodation Project.Using CARES Act funds, the state contracts with hotels to provide temporary housing for people in similar situations, like Shannon Meyer.Hotels designated for isolation may provide on-site health care or telehealth for positive patients who've been exposed but can't go home because of a high-risk family member.So far, 400 Nebraskans have used the program.It's an option Meyer wishes he'd known about for his mother. He believes other families just give up and go home. "There are probably a lot of people getting checked out that probably shouldn't be going home but are," he said.

OMAHA, Neb. —

Don and Shannon Meyer, both 85 of Nebraska, both have COVID-19. Shannon's symptoms are more severe than her husband's.

"She started exhibiting severe weakness, shortness of breath, severe back and neck pain," said Don Meyer, the couple's son.

He is positive too, exposed by his parents during trips to the emergency room. The first one was Oct. 27. Doctors sent Shannon back home to Maple Ridge Retirement Community. But the next day, Don Meyer took his mother back to the doctor.

"Once they saw the condition she was in, they sent her back to the ER at Lakeside Hospital again," Meyer said.

But less than a week into her hospital stay, Meyer received a frantic call from his dad.

"Due to the shortage of beds, they wanted her to transition out and we were unable to get into any rehab facility. They were going to send her home," he said.

To recover at home, Shannon, who uses a wheelchair, needs private in-home care. But the Meyers couldn't find anything affordable, due to her coronavirus diagnosis.

They were stuck.

"When looking at no place for your loved one to go, it is pretty frustrating. It's a big emotional roller coaster."

Shannon Meyer is one of the unknown numbers of positive patients who fall somewhere in between. They're not sick enough to receive that critical level of care at the hospital, but still too sick to recover at home.

"There's got to be another way. Is there someplace else? What is available?"

Finding few options, the Meyers did find a safe place for Shannon nearly two hours away in Corning, Iowa. CHI-Health Mercy had a room through what's called 'swing bed critical access care.'

"Small hospitals in the outlying metro-area take patients and care for them until they are COVID free," Meyer said.

As sister staton KETV looked for help, they discovered a program called the .

Using CARES Act funds, the state contracts with hotels to provide temporary housing for people in similar situations, like Shannon Meyer.

Hotels designated for isolation may provide on-site health care or telehealth for positive patients who've been exposed but can't go home because of a high-risk family member.

So far, 400 Nebraskans have used the program.

It's an option Meyer wishes he'd known about for his mother. He believes other families just give up and go home.

"There are probably a lot of people getting checked out that probably shouldn't be going home but are," he said.

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