Boone County COVID-19 hospital status back to green after months of yellow

Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services is back to reporting green status for the local hospital system after nearly three months in yellow.

This week marks the first time the department has reported green since June 29. 

Green status, according to the Boone County COVID-19 dashboard, means no more than one hospital in the area reports yellow status and none report red. Hospitals with green status are operating within licensed bed capacity and accepting patient transfers from referring hospitals within standard operating procedures.

Although the county is reporting green overall, MU Health Care is still listed as reporting yellow status, whereas Boone Health and Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital are currently reporting green.

"Like other health systems throughout the state, we are experiencing continued pressures on our capacity due to continued COVID-19 hospitalizations as we continue caring for patients with other acute illnesses," MU Health Care spokesman Eric Maze wrote in an email. "We are continually monitoring our bed availability, which fluctuates throughout the day based on admissions and discharges, and other factors. We have the flexibility to shift resources to create additional space for patients if needed."

Hospitals in yellow status are delaying non-emergency patients from referring hospitals due to either capacity or staffing issues for two consecutive days or greater. 

MU Health Care reports it is treating 68 patients due to COVID-19, including 13 in intensive care units.

There are 99 total virus-related hospitalizations in Boone County hospitals. Of those, 23 are county citizens; 23 are in the ICU; and 13 are on hospital ventilators. 

As of Thursday, there are 612 active cases of COVID-19 in Boone County. 

"We will continue to do what we can to support our local hospitals, including sharing COVID risk mitigation efforts with our community," local health department spokesperson Sara Humm wrote in an email.