Dr. Drew Miller knew his patient had to be moved.

The vital signs of the 30-year-old COVID-19 victim were crashing, and Kearny County Hospital in rural Lakin, Kansas, just wasn¡¯t equipped to handle the case. Miller, Kearny¡¯s chief medical officer ¡ª who doubles as the county health officer ¡ª called around to larger hospitals in search of an ICU bed. With coronavirus cases soaring throughout Kansas, he said, he couldn¡¯t find a single one.

By the time a bed opened elsewhere the following day, the young man was near death. For a full 45 minutes, Miller and his staff performed chest compressions in a desperate attempt to save him.