COVID In Montgomery County: Officials Growing Increasingly Concerned About Hospitals Running Out Of Space
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- Officials in Montgomery County are growing increasingly concerned about hospitals running out of space due to a surge in COVID-19 patients. There are over 350 coronavirus patients throughout the county, with a quarter of them being hospitalized in the past week.
The county is concerned that their beds are filling up again.
"Most hospitals in Montgomery County are at or near capacity. The majority have had to divert patients from their emergency rooms during the last several days for some period of time and some are beginning to cancel scheduled surgeries in order to create more staff beds for COVID-19 patients," said Dr. Valerie Arkoosh, chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners.
Montgomery County has seen 92 more hospitalized COVID patients since last Tuesday, and 362 overall.
Hospitals are now short-staffed after workers have been exposed or infected by community spread.
"There's just no one else to come. As I'm sure you've seen in the national news, hospitals everywhere are having this problem," Arkoosh said.
It underscores an issue popping up elsewhere as well.
The CDC warns the coming winter months may be the worst of this pandemic.
"It's overwhelming and we're doing the best we can to keep up," said Desirae Cogswell, an ICU respiratory therapist for the Mayo Clinic.
The COVID Tracking Project currently has the number of people hospitalized nationwide with the disease over 100,000. Vaccinations from Pfizer and Moderna could start shipping out as early as this month.
"It's going to be a Herculean effort to vaccinate 8 billion people worldwide against a new disease," New Orleans Health Director Dr. Jennifer Avegno said.
Back at home, a model by the state said it's possible all ICU beds in Pennsylvania could be filled by the middle of December.
Arkoosh says she's hopeful that won't be the case, but she is worried.
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