Excela Health seeing fewer covid hospitalizations, though number remains high

Hospitalizations of covid patients at Excela Health appear to have leveled off, but the overall total number still remains high, according to Dr. Carol Fox, its chief medical officer.

For most of the past few weeks, the number of covid patients hospitalized in Westmoreland County has hovered between 160 and 180 after an increase started around mid-November, according to state health department data.

“They are staying fairly steady, and the individuals who are hospitalized are very ill,” she said.

On Monday, there were 159 covid patients hospitalized in the county, down from 184 on Friday, the highest number since the pandemic hit locally in March. On Nov. 1, that number was 46. One month later, it was 107. There have been 483 deaths since March, more than half occurring since Dec. 1, according to state data.

The increased hospitalizations came as the county and state experienced an uptick in positive cases, prompting Gov. Tom Wolf to enact three weeks of restrictions around the holidays meant to slow the virus’s spread. The restrictions expired Jan. 4. Fox said she is hopeful that slight decreases in still-high positivity rates and case numbers might signal a lessening impact on the health system that operates three hospitals — Westmoreland in Greensburg, Frick in Mt. Pleasant and Latrobe.

Those decreases could be signs the public heeded warnings not to gather around the holidays.

“I think that there had to be the diminution of people getting together in groups,” she said.

But Fox isn’t ready to take a sigh of relief that a potential surge of virus cases related to holiday gatherings has passed until mid-January. The fall and winter surge meant that extra space in at least one of Excela’s hospitals had to be added in early December for covid patients. Employees pleaded with the public then to heed health guidelines meant to slow the virus’s spread as the health care system was strained.

The virus affected staff levels and employees from other departments were deployed to help with the virus caseload. Vaccinations started with hospital employees Dec. 18, and some have gotten their second dose.

Fox remains concerned about potential fallout from New Year’s Eve and the ensuing weekend.

“I have mixed feelings,” she said. “I’m not ready to exhale just yet. I am thinking that people, at least to some extent, have heeded the warnings not to (gather).”