‘Substantial stress on our hospital capacity’: Alaska's health workers face a dire situation as COVID-19 patients fill hospitals

Plus: Anchorage businesses navigate mask policies without mandates from the city or state, and a 55-year-old man from Indiana is attacked by a grizzly bear in Denali National Park. Email not displaying correctly? [View the web version]( [Anchorage Daily News]( Support independent reporting on what Alaskans care about most. [Subscribe today.]( Good afternoon. It’s Tuesday, August 24. In today's newsletter: - In a Q&A with the Daily News, an Anchorage emergency room nurse says hospital workers are coping with burnout and exhaustion. - Mat-Su Regional Medical Center becomes the latest hospital in Alaska to fill with COVID-19 patients. - Lacking a government mandate, Anchorage businesses and patrons make their own masking policies. [Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts died today at 80.]( He's one of the most heralded rock drummers of all time, but he didn't care much for rock music at first — his first love was jazz. When Watts joined the Stones, he was sure it would be a short-term gig: “I always thought the Stones would last a week, then a fortnight, and then suddenly, it’s 30 years.” ☁️ Anchorage weather Cloudy with a chance of isolated showers, and a high near 62. Expect more rain tomorrow, but conditions look drier on Thursday. Here’s what else is making headlines in Alaska today. — Ryan Cunningham, rcunningham@adn.com [‘I feel like we’re just being held hostage’: A Q&A with an Anchorage emergency room nurse]( [‘I feel like we’re just being held hostage’: A Q&A with an Anchorage emergency room nurse]( Greer Gehler says she loves her job at Providence Alaska Medical Center. But, like others in her field, Gehler is coping with burnout and exhaustion as COVID-19 patients fill Alaska’s hospitals. "In the emergency room, we know the look in somebody’s eyes when they can’t breathe," Gehler says. "And then, if they’re still conscious, explaining to them that you’re going to sedate them, you’re going to paralyze them, and you’re going to put a tube down their throat to breathe for them, and that they may never wake up again — hopefully they will, but you don’t know. That’s the look that you’ll never forget." [Read More]( [‘People are dying’: Mat-Su Regional becomes latest in Alaska to fill with COVID-19 patients]( [‘People are dying’: Mat-Su Regional becomes latest in Alaska to fill with COVID-19 patients]( Surging COVID-19 cases, combined with worker shortages and the usually busy summer season, have the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center operating at capacity. An ICU nurse at the hospital says every ICU bed was full on Sunday morning — all but one of the patients sick with COVID-19. Anchorage hospitals face similar circumstances, prompting a dire message from physicians: “We are on the verge of a hospital system collapse.” [Read More]( [Lacking a government mandate, Anchorage businesses and patrons make their own masking policies]( [Lacking a government mandate, Anchorage businesses and patrons make their own masking policies]( Amid a resurgent coronavirus pandemic, Washington and Oregon have returned to statewide indoor mask mandates for all people, vaccinated or unvaccinated. But Alaska is an outlier: Gov. Mike Dunleavy has never enacted a statewide masking mandate, and Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson has signaled he has no plans to require masks. [Read More]( [Solo hiker attacked by grizzly in Denali National Park]( [Hiker attacked by grizzly in Denali National Park]( Officials say a 55-year-old man from Indiana was attacked by a grizzly bear Monday night while he was hiking just south of the Eielson Visitor Center. The park service says the man was able to deploy bear spray after the bear knocked him down. After the attack, the man walked to the visitor center and was picked up by a park transit bus, according to the park service. [Read More]( [How one ‘COVID-conscious’ Alaska community is welcoming travelers]( [SPONSORED: How one ‘COVID-conscious’ Alaska community is welcoming travelers]( Presented by Valdez Convention & Visitors Bureau: In an era of travel uncertainty, the Valdez community has worked together to make sure Alaskans can visit and explore with confidence. [Read More]( More from the ADN [Anchor Point man sought in shooting of Alaska state trooper is in custody]( [Anchor Point man sought in shooting of Alaska state trooper is in custody]( [Read More]( [Eagle River secession movement asks Municipality of Anchorage for funding]( [Eagle River secession movement asks Municipality of Anchorage for funding]( [Read More]( [Mat-Su school is borough’s first to shift to universal masking amid COVID-19 outbreak]( [Mat-Su school is borough’s first to shift to universal masking amid COVID-19 outbreak]( [Read More]( [Fire destroys Two Rivers Lodge as troopers continue investigation into string of summer arsons]( [Fire destroys Two Rivers Lodge as troopers continue investigation into string of summer arsons]( [Read More]( [Cellphone catches fire on Alaska Airlines flight, forcing jet evacuation at Sea-Tac airport]( [Cellphone catches fire on Alaska Airlines flight, forcing jet evacuation at Sea-Tac airport]( [Read More]( The ADN relies on readers like you. 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