By: Nyah Adams / News Director

CentraCare and many hospitals around Minnesota are full and still struggling to keep up with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The St. Cloud hospital is packed with patients who wait hours to receive the care they desperately need and staff work until the point of exhaustion. CentraCare says there was a staffing problem before the pandemic and it has only grown worse.

Ken Holmen the President and CEO of CentraCare says “We have been working for more than 20 months to care for you, your families and friends during this pandemic. We are committed to helping every patient who needs us – a responsibility that has been much harder lately.”

There are some ways you can help CentraCare and other hospitals keep up with the pandemic.

• Please get vaccinated. Vaccines are our best defense against this virus. They are proven safe and effective in reducing COVID-19 illness, keeping people out of the hospital, and preventing death. They have the potential to end the pandemic, but only if more people get them.

• Stop community spread by practicing social distancing and masking.

• Come work for CentraCare. If you have any health care experience or licensure, and would be willing to return to work or volunteer, please consider it.

• If your situation is not an emergency, please use other care options. This will help open beds for patients who truly need one.

For more information you can visit the CentraCare website to learn more.

o If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 9-1-1, or visit the ER.