coronavirus pandemic

Alabama Heart Patient Dies After Hospital Can't Find Bed Among 43 ICUs in 3 States, Family Says

The state has had one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country

icu bed nurse Arkansas
Houston Cofield/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com here. 

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