How a Pennsylvania hospital system is working to free up beds during latest COVID-19 surge
ABC News
As COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to climb in Pennsylvania, one hospital system is finding ways to free up valuable bed space once again.
As COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to climb in Pennsylvania, straining health care facilities across the state, hospitals are working to find ways to free up valuable bed space once again.
WellSpan Health, which operates six acute care facilities in south-central Pennsylvania, has been approaching 400 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in recent days -- a volume not seen in nearly a year. About one-third of current hospitalizations are for COVID-19, hospital officials said.
As the number of COVID-19 patients quickly escalates, WellSpan's hospitals are operating at 110% to 140% occupancy, Dr. Michael Seim, chief quality officer and senior vice president of WellSpan Health, told ABC News. He doesn't expect the volume to let up for several more weeks.
"Unfortunately, our predictive models don't show this wave peaking until January 2022," Seim said. "I think we're all bracing for this to be longer than last year."
