Hospitals outside Philadelphia slammed by surge in COVID-19 patients

SPRINGFIELD,.Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — As a record number of Americans are infected with COVID-19, largely because of the rapidly spreading omicron variant, some states’ health care systems are beset with nearly full intensive care units. Four states have less than 10% remaining capacity.

Hospitals outside Philadelphia are getting slammed by a surge in patients. Lehigh County and Northampton County currently have the highest increase in hospitalizations, but Delaware County is also seeing a surge.

A combination of full beds and staff shortages have Springfield Hospital closing its emergency department and some other services on Friday.

Delaware County-based Crozer Health says it has to shift around resources to best serve the community right now. Springfield Hospital ER and a few other services in the hospital are closing temporarily so staff can fill in the gaps elsewhere. Crozer says there's a combination of a nursing shortage and employees out sick with COVID-19 right now that is really stressing the system.

This is an issue around the country. CDC Director Dr. Michelle Wollensky says the risk of hospitalization from omicron right now seems to be low, especially among those who are vaccinated and boosted. However, the staggering rise in cases – over 1 million new cases each day – has led to a high number of total hospitalizations.

On Monday, Pennsylvania health officials said hospitalizations in the commonwealth increased by 18% compared to last week, and available ICU beds fell as well to near 14%.

President Joe Biden is expected to announce Thursday that a new wave of medical teams are going to help six states, including New Jersey, push back on the pressure hospitals are feeling from COVID-19. The White House said 1,000 military medical personnel will begin arriving to support University Hospital in Newark, N.J., as well as hospitals in Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island.

The new deployments will be on top of other federal medical personnel who have already been sent to states to help with acute shortages.

The administration's focus is shifting to easing disruptions from the nationwide spike in cases that is also contributing to grocery shortages and flight cancellations.

On Tuesday, Janet Woodcock, the acting head of the Food and Drug Administration, told Congress that the highly transmissible strain will infect “most people” and that the focus should turn to ensuring critical services can continue uninterrupted.

"I think it’s hard to process what’s actually happening right now, which is: Most people are going to get COVID, all right?" she said. "What we need to do is make sure the hospitals can still function — transportation, other essential services are not disrupted while this happens."

The White House said Biden would be joined by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who recently recovered from his own case of COVID-19, and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. They will spotlight the work of the more than 800 military personnel who have been helping civilian hospitals since Thanksgiving and the more than 14,000 National Guard members whose work supporting vaccinations, testing and caring for patients is being covered by the federal government.

The White House said the trio would speak with federal personnel who are already on the ground in Arizona, Michigan and New York to hear about their experiences.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Tim Jimenez/KYW Newsradio