Covid-19 hospitalizations see 'worst day' across valley, Ohio
Ohio saw its worst day of new covid-19 hospitalizations since the start of the pandemic on Monday.
The state's coronavirus dashboard reported 19,000 cases within last 24 hours and new 350 hospitalizations, bringing the state to an all time high of 6,177 covid-19 patients hospitalized.
"This is actually the highest day we've had comparing it to all of 2021," Dr. James Kravec said, chief medical officer of Mercy Health.
A total of about 1,300 covid patients are in intensive care units across the state.
Dr. Kravec says Mercy Health started noticing an uptick over the past two weeks, with the majority of covid patients unvaccinated.
He and other local hospital leaders are describing the spread of the omicron variant as rapid, with the new strain making up an estimated 80-percent of overall known cases.
"We're still seeing a lot of Delta as well we think," he said. "We think the Delta patients are the more severe with lung involvement.
Kravec says Mercy Health's eight walk-in clinics had their busiest day since the onset of pandemic last week. On Monday, he said the walk-in clinics and emergency rooms were busy with longer wait times.
Salem Regional Medical Center is seeing an "extremely high demand for COVID inpatient care".
"Our COVID patient volumes are not at their highest point, but we continue to experience a significant number of people seeking care in our ER and Immediate Care Center," Mike Santillo said, director of marketing and public relations for Salem Regional Medical Center.
UPMC's northern Pennsylvania region is reporting an almost 20-percent increase in hospitalizations over the past week.
"Even last December when we saw our first major surge, that still lasted a good 90 days," Emily Shears said, vice president of quality for Northern Pennsylvania UPMC hospitals. "I think we're in for at least 30 to 60 days."
The Ohio Hospital Association calls the community spread of the omicron variant concerning.
"We're look at the peak coming here in January or February, but we don't know when we'll see a decrease, because right now we're seeing really high hospitalizations," John Palmer said, spokesperson for OHA.
STRAINING THE SYSTEM
Healthcare workers are also getting sick with illnesses and covid-19. Kravec says the surge is putting a further strain on an already fragile system.
"If we had more staff we'd be able to see our patients quicker in the ER and hopfully more timely in the hospital, but that's the situation we have in our country right now, so we're continuing to manage that best we can," Dr. Kravec said.
Kravec says he's watching and waiting to see if omicron cases rise to the level of Delta related illnesses.
"I'm hopeful," he said. "Although it is very, very busy in the community, very busy in the walk-in cares, very busy in the ERs, I think it's a matter of time over the next couple of weeks to see whether or no more of the omicron patients will get admitted or if as time goes on with less Delta patients in the hospital we'll see less."
