Struggling to Breathe:
Nebraskans’ Care Delayed as COVID-19 Strains Lincoln Hospital
The horror of The List is simple. It’s proof that one of the biggest, best hospitals in Nebraska is being forced to ration medical care — unable to admit very sick patients it would normally admit — because its emergency rooms, regular rooms, intensive-care rooms, makeshift overflow rooms, waiting rooms and even hallways are packed with coronavirus patients.
By Matthew Hansen. Originally published in Flatwater Free Press.
Republished in The Reader.
Reed Moore’s Daily Rundown
Happy Women Rock! Day
Put your earbuds in and join today’s news in celebrating the brilliant women who create giant waves in the music world: A federal judge in Louisiana rules that teachers for the Head Start early education program can’t be required to get vaxxed against COVID-19, Nebraska is working to collect a $9,300 judgment from the Oath Keepers, an anti-government militia group with almost 20 members charged in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot, and strikers at a Berkshire Hathaway-owned manufacturing facility get support from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who writes a strongly worded letter to Omaha billionaire Warren Buffett.
Harper’s Index Fact of the Day
Portion of adults who think COVID-19 will
change the United States for the better: 1/5
Source: Washington Post/ABC News
Reed Moore’s COVID-19 Roundup
As announced in the Wednesday, Dec. 29, bonus newsletter, in light of the Omicron variant, Reed Moore will replace the “Thing To Do” section with a COVID-19 spotlight featuring coronavirus-related content. The Reader believes it’s irresponsible to promote events when hospitals are nearing capacity, some community members refuse to get vaccinated and Omaha still doesn’t have a mask mandate. As cases continue, The Reader won’t promote any events — be they concerts, plays, art-gallery openings or stand-up comedy — that don’t require masks, vaccination and social distancing.
- Thinking of getting vaccinated as the Douglas County Health Department reports 398 new positive coronavirus tests? This is where you can get your jab.
- CNN spotlights “exhausted” health care workers, including those in Nebraska.
- The Nebraska Strong Recovery Project offers COVID-19-related support and education, including mental-health resources.
For nationwide COVID-19 case
and vaccination trends, click here.
Around Omaha
- Strikers at a Berkshire Hathaway-owned manufacturing facility get support from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders — but not Omaha billionaire Warren Buffett, who’s CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. Reed Moore about the strongly worded letter Sanders wrote Buffett, asking the billionaire to get involved on behalf of the workers.
- Construction kicks off on a skate ribbon in downtown Omaha.
- Omaha native Symone Sanders, who recently left her job as a senior adviser and spokeswoman for Vice President Kamala Harris, reflects on the past and opens up about her plans for the future.
- As temperatures drop in Omaha, people without housing could experience serious injury or death. Here are some local resources.
- Two children die and an adult is critically injured in a New Year’s Day apartment fire.
- “You can be in the shoes of the person who is going through the crisis”: The Omaha Police Department and mental health co-responders train using virtual reality.
- Take a deep dive into the Omaha chapter of national nonprofit PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays).
Around Nebraska
- A federal judge in Louisiana rules that teachers for the Head Start early education program — including in Nebraska — cannot be required to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
- The state is working to collect a $9,300 judgment from the Oath Keepers, an anti-government militia group with almost 20 members charged in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot, for not giving workers’ comp to its sole employee in Nebraska.
- Nebraska road deaths and homicides fall in 2021, as national numbers rise.
- “RV There Yet,” which features Nebraska state parks and is produced by a Lincoln native, debuts on Discovery Channel.
- The Nebraska Legislature prepares to make decisions about what to do with almost $3 billion. The money comes from the American Rescue Plan Act, state general fund revenues, and Nebraska’s cash reserve fund.
The City Council and Douglas County Board of Commissioners are on break, so Reed Moore has nothing to report on the local government scene.
The Daily Funny
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