Amid COVID-19 surges, PA hospitals ask for help 

The Wolf administration is organizing with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to launch a number of regional support sites for both hospitals and long-term care facilities and strike teams to support hospitals facing staffing shortages. 

The initiative includes the launching of regional support sites, allowing hospitals struggling to meet inpatient demands to transfer patients to hospitals within a designated location with increased capacity. 

Hospitals will also be identified to receive staffing support through the state Department of Health, which could include physicians, respiratory therapists and registered nurses.  

“I am committed to seeing the healthcare community through these difficult times,” said Gov. Tom Wolf. “We’re organizing these support sites and strike teams in response to calls for help from the healthcare community. I will do everything in my power to continue supporting the healthcare heroes that have supported all of us since day one of this pandemic.” 

As of Sunday, Jan. 2, the daily average number of COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania was 18,344. The number of people currently hospitalized with the virus on Monday, Jan. 3 was 22.6% higher than it was on Dec. 27, according to the state Department of Health. 

On Jan. 3, a 23-person support team of physicians, nurses and respiratory care practitioners was deployed to WellSpan Health’s York hospital through FEMA, one of two strike teams approved for the state so far, with a second sent to Scranton Regional Hospital. 

The support, requested by Gov. Tom Wolf, was sent to help York-based WellSpan Health as daily COVID-19 hospitalizations across eight hospitals doubled from less than 250 patients to over 450 over a six-week period. 

The team is expected to be helping for approximately 30 days with the chance of increasing that time if necessary. FEMA’s assistance allows the system to redeploy its staff to other areas of the system if needed, said Dr. Roxanna Gapstur, president and CEO of WellSpan Health. 

“We have seen several improvements. It’s quite obvious that this team of professionals are experts in their field,” said Gapstur. “We have been moving the staff around from site to site as needed. It is really helpful to have the strike team here at York but it’s helpful for the rest of the system as well.” 

At Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital, those numbers have equated to 101 unvaccinated COVID-19 positive inpatients out of 128 and 18 unvaccinated patients in critical care out of 21. 

Within Penn State Health, the Hershey-based system has had 193 adult COVID-19 hospitalizations as of January 5 with 42 in critical care and 26 on a ventilator. 

“The demand on health care facilities, on hospitals and our emergency rooms has been incredibly high in the last few weeks and we continue to see increasing volumes in the demand for health care,” said Dr. Peter Dillon, executive vice president and chief clinical officer at Penn State Health. 

Currently about 20% of Penn State Health’s patient population at its hospitals is COVID-19 positive but caring for that population takes up to 80% of the system’s resources and energy, said Deborah Addo, executive vice president and COO at Penn State Health. 

Penn State Health leadership, along with other health care leaders in the region, recently spoke to the governor about what will help health systems through the most recent surge. 

“It isn’t what we just need in our hospitals, it’s what we need in our post-acute hospitals like behavioral health and pediatrics,” said Addo. “What we are seeing in acute care hospitals, is that [COVID-19 is clogging the entire system’s] ability to get patients in or discharge them into another level of care.”