Mount Nittany Medical Center continues to be ‘severely impacted’ as COVID-19 surges in PA
The stress exerted on Mount Nittany Medical Center has not abated in the week after the only hospital in Centre County turned patients away from its emergency department.
Health system administrators are “reallocating staff and resources in real time” in an effort to ease some of the burden placed on the hospital, the organization’s chief medical officer said in a written statement Friday.
But intensive care physicians are experiencing no relief as overall patient volumes are at record levels, Dr. Upendra Thaker said.
“Our region’s health systems are being severely impacted by the surge of COVID-19 as a result of the transmission that is happening in our communities. We want everyone to know this kind of pressure on health care services severely impacts access to much needed medical services,” Thaker said. “This situation will not begin to improve until community transmission of the virus falls. We are doing everything we can do. We continue to ask that everyone who is eligible get vaccinated, avoid large indoor gatherings, social distance and hand wash.”
Only one visitor per patient will be allowed between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. daily, effective Saturday. All elective surgeries that require at least one overnight inpatient stay were postponed through at least Dec. 20.
Three longtime leaders of emergency medical service agencies told the Centre Daily Times the diversion due to overwhelming patient volume — which went into effect in the evening on Dec. 2 and was lifted the morning of Dec. 3 — was unheard of.
Neither Moshannon Valley EMS co-managers Shelly Tormey and Wes Cartwright nor Bellefonte EMS Executive Director Scott Rhoat could recall Friday another instance of all patients being turned away. Each has worked in Centre County since at least 1987.
Two Bellefonte EMS patients were instead sent to UPMC Lock Haven, which is about 25 miles from downtown Bellefonte. The drive was about 30 minutes, roughly triple the amount of time it typically takes an ambulance to get to Mount Nittany.
It’s also not uncommon, Rhoat and Tormey said, for patients to endure hourslong delays at the emergency department.
“It strains us,” Tormey said of the extra time required to respond.
Added Rhoat: “There’s a big domino effect.”
Mount Nittany isn’t the only Pennsylvania health system under pressure. Geisinger — one of the state’s largest health systems — said Wednesday it was out of beds because of the latest COVID-19 surge.
Both health systems are caring for largely unvaccinated COVID-19 patients. Nearly three-quarters of Mount Nittany’s 65 patients hospitalized with the disease as of Friday are not vaccinated.
The 260-bed hospital cared for an average of 57 people diagnosed with COVID-19 daily in December, the highest ever.
Patients were urged to visit mountnittany.org/virtualER to reduce the amount of time they spend in the emergency room waiting area.
A spokesperson for the union that represents hundreds of hospital employees was not immediately able to comment Friday.
“I applaud our staff for their hard work during this difficult time and for their commitment to providing the best care possible for our patients. Their efforts are heroic,” Mount Nittany chief nursing officer Tiffany Cabibbo said in a written statement. “We ask for continued support from the community as we continue to meet these unprecedented challenges.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 3:25 PM.