Family: Man turned away by dozens of COVID-filled hospitals

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A family is urging people to get vaccinated after their 73-year-old relative was turned away from dozens of hospitals dealing with a surge in coronavirus patients. An obituary for Ray Martin DeMonia says staff at a north Alabama hospital contacted 43 hospitals in three states searching for a cardiac intensive care bed. The Cullman man was finally transferred to Meridian, Mississippi, about 170 miles away. That’s where he died Sept. 1 because of the cardiac event he suffered. In his obituary, his family asked people to honor him by getting vaccinated to free up resources for non-COVID-related emergencies.