President of Tri-County Health Care Addresses Rumors Regarding FEMA Specialists and COVID-19

WADENA (KDLM) – Tri-County Health Care’s President & CEO, Joel Beiswenger has released a letter to community members to address rumors regarding FEMA disaster relief specialists and COVID-19.

The Minnesota Department of Health, in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), mobilized several clinician groups across central Minnesota. On Dec. 3, FEMA clinicians arrived for orientation training at Tri-County Health Care in Wadena. These support clinicians will assist staff with COVID-19 vaccination and administering monoclonal antibody treatment.

It is anticipated that FEMA clinicians will be onsite until Jan. 30, but they may stay longer if conditions in the area have not improved.

“Their arrival brings relief for the many staff members that have simply reached their limit after battling a seemingly never-ending pandemic. Although I’m happy for the assistance from FEMA and the State of Minnesota, I can’t help but see their involvement as a benchmark of just how much our community has suffered from COVID-19”, Beiswenger said. “I am extraordinarily frustrated and dismayed with the situation we find ourselves in. Things have deteriorated. As a community, our unity has all but vanished. We all need to stand together to break free of the pandemic. There have been deaths in our hospital and around the nation that may have been preventable.”

Beiswenger says a number of rumors are circulating around the community about COVID-19 and Tri-County Health Care’s vaccination efforts. He’s addressed what he calls the “main rumors” below.

• Rumor 1: “I heard that Tri-County Health Care is discriminating against the unvaccinated. They are turning people away that haven’t got the jab. Don’t go there.”
  • This is not true. Tri-County Health Care is continuing to care for everyone in our community regardless of vaccination status.
• Rumor 2: “What is the point of any of this! People who get the vaccine are still catching COVID. Waste of time.”
  • While it is true that vaccinated people can contract COVID-19, evidence continues to show that vaccinated individuals generally have milder cases and have a much lower need for hospitalization.
• Rumor 3: “Tri-County Health Care is artificially inflating their COVID numbers to convince people to get vaccinated.”
  • This is not true. We are seeing an abundance of patients suffering from non-covid illnesses and injuries. For the past ten weeks, our activity in our inpatient unit, urgent care center, and the Emergency Department has been approximately 2.5 times normal.

A copy of his full letter is available below:

For the first time in my career, I’ve welcomed FEMA disaster relief specialists into our hospital operations. Their arrival brings relief for the many staff members that have simply reached their limit after battling a seemingly never-ending pandemic. Although I’m happy for the assistance from FEMA and the State of Minnesota, I can’t help but see their involvement as a benchmark of just how much our community has suffered from COVID-19. Both in our region and around the state, the healthcare provider system has been struggling so much that the federal government felt it was necessary to deploy the same people that rebuild after hurricanes and provide food and water after tornadoes.

I am extraordinarily frustrated and dismayed with the situation we find ourselves in. Things have deteriorated. As a community, our unity has all but vanished. We all need to stand together to break free of the pandemic. There have been deaths in our hospital and around the nation that may have been preventable.

It’s with great pain that I must address some rumors circulating throughout the community about COVID-19 and our vaccination efforts. I ask that you please disregard these rumors and try to educate those circulating them. Some of those rumors are included below. I wanted to address the main rumors that I have personally confronted.

o Rumor 1: “I heard that Tri-County Health Care is discriminating against the unvaccinated. They are turning people away that haven’t got the jab. Don’t go there.”

This is not true. Tri-County Health Care is continuing to care for everyone in our community regardless of vaccination status.

o Rumor 2: “What is the point of any of this! People who get the vaccine are still catching COVID. Waste of time.”

While it is true that vaccinated people can contract COVID-19, evidence continues to show that vaccinated individuals generally have milder cases and have a much lower need for hospitalization.

o Rumor 3: “Tri-County Health Care is artificially inflating their COVID numbers to convince people to get vaccinated.”

This is not true. We are seeing an abundance of patients suffering from non-covid illnesses and injuries. For the past ten weeks, our activity in our inpatient unit, urgent care center, and the Emergency Department has been approximately 2.5 times normal.

Please seek out information about COVID-19 and the vaccine from trusted sources. Social media and its associated comment sections are not a great place to discuss COVID-19. They are often hijacked by people seeking to confirm misinformed personal agendas. Speak to a physician or get information from reliable sources like the Minnesota Department of Health or Centers for Disease Control.

Thank you, and please stay safe this holiday season.

Joel Beiswenger

President & CEO

Tri-County Health Care