Hospitals

Hospitals spend a lot of money on their energy bills, and many health systems want to cut their costs without hurting patients and try to help the environment at the same time. Now, one healthcare practice has figured out how to do just that.

Though hospitals work to solve people's health problems, the waste they produce can lead to making patients sicker, which is something many health care institutions would like to change.

Hospitals produce 14,000 tons of trash every day, and up to a quarter of that is plastic. Despite this overwhelming number, though, doctors are working to find solutions to this problem.

COVID numbers have reportedly remained low in Mountain West psychiatric hospitals however, there are a few that are skeptical of this number.

St. Luke's Health System says it has resumed non-emergency procedures delayed since September by the large number of pandemic patients.

Of COVID-19 cases recorded in Idaho since mid-May, 89.1% have been among unvaccinated people, according to IDHW. For hospitalizations in the past six month, 90.3% have been unvaccinated, and 88% of people who died due to COVID were not fully vaccinated.

With hospitals around the state full, North Canyon is having a much tougher time transferring patients out who need higher levels of care. And the transfers are needed more frequently — about once per day.

It's Friday — which means it's time for our Reporter Roundtable. Our panel of reporters will get you up-to-date on the headlines of this past week. On today's show: ICU capacity, COVID-19 in rural hospitals, increasing evictions, the Boise Farmers Market going virtual and more.

COVID-19 case numbers and deaths continue to climb, putting Idaho among the worst in the nation for the rate of new diagnoses. Idaho Matters is joined by two medical experts to unpack the current state of the coronavirus crisis.

Idaho Matters Friday Reporter Roundtable unpacks all the news from the week — from the headlines to what you may have missed.