Alabama man dies after hospital contacts 43 ICUs in 3 states, family says

An Alabama antiques dealer died this month of a “cardiac event” after the emergency staff at his local hospital contacted dozens of intensive care units in three states and was unable to find him a bed as Covid-19 cases surged, his family said.

The man, Ray DeMonia, who ran DeMonia’s Antiques and Auctions for four decades, died Sept. 1, three days before his 74th birthday, his family said in an obituary published this month.

“Ray was a great, great man, liked and respected by many,” his family said.

DeMonia died as Covid-19 cases in the state, which has had one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, continue to surge.

Some Alabama nurses have protested the grueling work conditions, and last month a doctor in Mobile said he would stop treating unvaccinated patients.