Mount Nittany reports record number of COVID-19 inpatients, warns of impact on services
Mount Nittany Medical Center is treating 41 COVID-19 positive inpatients as of Saturday, a record number that has the potential to affect services within the health system as cases surge in Centre County.
The 41 inpatients range in age from 36-91, chief medical officer Dr. Nirmal Joshi said in a statement. That’s nine more inpatients than the hospital reported Friday.
The hospital had a total of 58 COVID-19 positive patients admitted in October.
“We continue to operate under our COVID surge capacity plan which includes continuous monitoring and additional measures to provide the best possible care for all of our patients, while closely following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for patient placement and care,” Joshi said.
To manage capacity during periods of high COVID patient volume, the hospital will reschedule elective surgical procedures that require admission, and Joshi anticipates additional services may be impacted in the coming days.
“We are doing what we can to continue providing as many of our usual services to the community as possible, but there are limits to what can be done as the number of cases continues to climb,” he said.
The rescheduling of elective surgeries reverts back to a policy the hospital implemented this spring, a hospital spokesperson said. Visitor restrictions were also reinstated this month as cases continued to increase.
Centre County added 154 new cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, according to the state Department of Health, the county’s highest single-day increase since late September. There have been 30 deaths confirmed this month by the Centre County coroner, bringing the death toll to 48, ranging in age from 62 to 104.
It has also been a record-setting month across the state, with daily cases exceeding 6,000 every day since Tuesday, and 8,053 new cases reported Saturday. Statewide, 2,904 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, with 864 patients in the intensive care unit.
Mount Nittany Health does not release the number of COVID-19 patients it is ICU, a hospital spokesperson said.
“As we face these additional challenges, it is critical for everyone to closely follow COVID safety measures including social distancing, masking and frequent hand washing,” Joshi said. “This is more important now than ever. We must work together to care for one another, especially our most vulnerable community members.”
