Christy Baxter (far right), director of critical care at Billings Clinic, meets with nurses in the hospital’s cardiopulmonary unit on Sept. 17. The unit houses overflow patients from the ICU. (Nick Ehli for KHN)
September 21, 2021
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September 21, 2021 3 p.m.
Covid surge pushes Billings Clinic past the tipping point
Nurses fill the hospital room to turn a patient from his stomach to his back. The ventilator forcing air into him is most effective when he’s on his stomach, so he is in that position most hours of the day, sedated and paralyzed by drugs.