Hospital in hard-hit Springfield turns away COVID patients

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Some COVID-19 patients are being turned away from an overwhelmed Springfield hospital where cases are surging and taken to less-stressed hospitals hundreds of miles away in Kansas City and St. Louis.

The Springfield News-Leaders reports that CoxHealth system president Steve Edwards said Tuesday that the hospital in Springfield was on “COVID diversion” as the Delta variant gains momentum in southwest Missouri, where large swaths of residents aren’t vaccinated.

He also said four Cox patients recently were transferred to BJC HealthCare, a St. Louis-area health system with 14 hospitals including Barnes-Jewish, a big teaching hospital tied to Washington University’s medical school.

Another four Cox patients have been transferred to St. Luke’s Health System in Kansas City.