Today, we are caring for 30 COVID positive inpatients at Mount Nittany
Medical Center, ranging in age from 25 to 94. Our average daily census of COVID
positive inpatients has climbed from 27 in September to 32 in October. This
compares to an average of 2 patients per day in September of last year.
“We continue to be very concerned about the high number of COVID cases and
hospitalizations in the community,” said Upendra Thaker. “This is impacting our
community and our local healthcare providers every day. Cases and
hospitalizations must trend downward to reduce the strain on all our local
healthcare providers and enable a return to normal operations.”
Dr. Thaker added that Mount Nittany Medical Center bed capacity is currently being taxed by a combination of high numbers of COVID patients plus and increasing difficulty discharging patients to area long-term care facilities resulting in longer hospital stays. He noted that these issues have been ongoing at hospitals across the country throughout the pandemic.
“The combination of COVID patients and longer hospital stays means we have approximately 40 patients in the hospital each day who would not be here in normal circumstances,” said Thaker. “Simply put, this means we have fewer beds to care for other patients. As a result, we’ve unfortunately had to reschedule surgical cases that require a hospital stay and we are experiencing longer service times in our Emergency Department. We understand the disruption this creates for patients and their families.”
Hospital clinical leaders monitor the situation daily and adjust operations as needed. Dr. Thaker noted that Mount Nittany Health leaders maintain regular contact with other regional health systems and are hearing the same set of challenges.
“We are facing similar difficulties,” noted Thaker. “All of us are postponing surgeries or making other operational changes. Nobody wants to be in that position. Our mission is to do as much as we possibly can for everyone who needs our services. It’s disappointing not to be able to do that.”
Dr. Thaker also noted the effort and dedication of the Mount Nittany Health staff.
“We are very proud of the excellent care our team is providing under difficult circumstances,” added Thaker. “They have risen to meet repeated challenges. I know they appreciate your support, patience and understanding. On their behalf, please do everything you can to keep yourself, friends, family and community safe.”
In September, we launched a COVID-19 inpatient dashboard, updated weekdays on our website. We have added a graph here that demonstrates the steep increase in both COVID positive cases in our county and hospitalizations compared to previous months.
We will continue to do everything that we can to serve every patient every day, but as physicians, nurses and healthcare workers on the front lines who have been fighting the pandemic for more than a year and half now, we urge you to do everything you can to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations due to COVID-19.
Please get vaccinated, social distance, avoid large gatherings, wear a mask,
and wash your hands frequently. You can visit
our website to register for a vaccine, booster or additional dose.
In addition, if you are experiencing any symptoms or believe you were exposed
to someone who is COVID positive, then please isolate yourself from others and
seek testing.