State officials are predicting a COVID-19 surge next month. Avera facilities in Mitchell are preparing for that surge.

Avera Queen of Peace Chief Medical Officer Hilary Rockwell says they are ready.  “If we surge, we have the things in place to make it go as well as it can.  There’s always going to be problems that arise that are unforeseen, but I think we will be able to troubleshoot a lot of that and get the job done.”

Vice President of Patient Services Rochelle Reider says preparations have been made including expanding the number of rooms in the emergency department from 9 to 32.  The number of inpatient beds has increased from 33 to 60.

Since the end of April, Avera Queen of Peace has had the ability to conduct 20 tests per day.