PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania officials are trying to beef up support for hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and their workers – all suffering under the strains of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health sent a strike team out to health care systems in the Philadelphia suburbs. And, with the help of the National Guard and PEMA, they are establishing four regional support sites at long-term care nursing facilities in different parts of the commonwealth.
"Each facility will receive clinical and non-clinical staff support to open up to 30 beds," Pennsylvania’s acting Health Secretary Keara Klinepeter said.
The one in the Philadelphia area will be at the Watermark at Logan Square retirement community in Center City.
Klinepeter gives an example to illustrate how it works: A hospital has a COVID-19 patient who needs long-term care but can be discharged. They can't find a place for that person for whatever reason, so they work with the state to try to get them to one of these support sites.
"The facility and the hospital would get connected, and they would be able to evaluate to make sure that that’s the appropriate level of care for the resident," Klinepeter said.
The hope is this will help to lessen the load for hospital workers who are stretched thin.
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She said case counts are going down in Pennsylvania, but far too many – 5,500 people – are hospitalized. Combined with staff shortages at hospitals, in part because so many workers have gotten sick, it has been an overwhelming time for area hospitals.
“This will benefit all Pennsylvanians, because it will free additional acute care space to meet COVID-19 demands. When hospitals are full, largely due to COVID-19, it could mean care is delayed for people who really need it,” Klinepeter said.
That’s the idea behind the state health care strike teams, as well. Over the weekend, a team of nurses and respiratory therapists was sent to Crozer Health, which asked for help because of staffing shortages.
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This is the second state strike team deployed. The first was in Southeastern Pa., as well: Grand View Health in Bucks County.
The teams are available for up to two weeks.