Mar 25, 2020 3 min read

As news emerged of more cases across Pennsylvania and a second death in Allegheny County, a state health care advocate said Tuesday that hospitals are bracing for a potential surge of patients infected with coronavirus.

Andy Carter, president and CEO of the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, said the usage rates – or “burn rates” – for protective equipment like ventilators, which are needed by those treating infections of the contagious respiratory infection, vary among hospitals. But he said estimates show the existing statewide supply would last three weeks at most, “and in some places, we would run out in a matter of hours or days.”

“Positive COVID-19 cases are now showing up in the post-acute (care) community, such as nursing homes, which, unless managed, can lead to their inability to take any new patients,” Carter added. “And without surge facilities brought online to replace them, hospitals will be unable to safely discharge patients who no longer need hospital-level care. Thus squatting is just going to put other patients and hospital workers at greater risk of infection.

“It’s the shared scale of the COVID-19 outbreak unfolding now that has the health care community saying, ‘We need government help.'”

Washington Health System didn’t provide specific numbers about how many beds it has available at its hospital in the city.

WHS spokesperson Stephanie Wagoner stressed prevention of new cases as ideal, but said the system “is methodically planning and allocating resources to prepare for a potential surge in patients. The plans are updated daily, as this is a fluid situation and the details will not be made public, at this time.”

The health system is cross-training staff and taking other measures to prepare, including closing visitation at hospitals and inpatient facilities. It’s “curtailed non-urgent elective procedures” through April 11, Wagoner added.

As of Tuesday, there have been more than 850 cases reported statewide, an increase of more than 200 from a day earlier. Four additional deaths – including one in Allegheny County – brought the fatalities to seven in Pennsylvania.

As the infections continued to rise, Carter described efforts by his group to advocate for providers, saying his group is pursuing “regulatory relief from rules on reimbursement, professional and facility licensure, child care services and other frictions that slow our response.”

Carter didn’t give details about staffing levels in specific facilities or regions during his teleconference with reporters. He also didn’t detail shortages of beds or supplies at any specific facilities and steps his group had taken to address them, but focused on how his group proposed to offset the fiscal impact of the pandemic on health care systems.

Carter said his group presented to Gov. Tom Wolf and state lawmakers a plan for what it’s calling the Healthcare Coronavirus Emergency Response Fund, “designed to be available to hospitals and other providers where existing or federal resources are not available” to pay for supplies like ventilators, more staff, additional housing for patients and other emergency costs.

Carter said his group is talking to potential sponsors. No legislation has been introduced so far.

“The fund will also be important to helping hospitals and other providers remain financially viable in the months and years to come. The fact that hospitals are suspending or canceling elective procedures results in a huge financial loss to these hospitals,” creating another strain on them.