Until recently, patients at Medical Arts Hospital in Lamesa needing more extensive treatment were transferred to bigger hospitals in Lubbock. But with COVID-19 cases on the rise and the number of available hospital beds decreasing, those patients are now having to travel to more distant locations for the care they need. Almost all of Lamesa’s patients needing the care of larger medical facilities are normally transported to University Medical Center (UMC) or Covenant hospitals in Lubbock. But due to the pandemic, as well as patients with other medical issues, both facilities are running low on space. “They are at capacity,” said Letha Stokes,