Excela to add more covid-19 beds at its hospitals as cases continue to rise

Officials at Excela Health plan to add beds for coronavirus patients, possibly as early as Tuesday, at one of its Westmoreland County facilities as hospitalizations continue to increase.

Dr. Carol Fox, Excela’s chief medical officer, said Monday the move to convert a procedure room into one for inpatients will add about 12 beds. Staff who normally work in that area will treat coronavirus patients.

“At this point, we have the capacity to create additional units at any of our hospitals at a moment’s notice,” she said.

The addition comes as the county’s number of infections and hospitalizations continues to grow. On Monday, there were 133 patients hospitalized in the county with covid-19 — a 24% increase in a week and more than 138% since Nov. 1, according to state data. On Sunday, there were 137 patients — the highest since the pandemic started in March.

Of all patients currently at Excela’s three hospitals, 40% were admitted because of the coronavirus, Fox said. That is the most since the pandemic began.

“It’s making up a fairly significant portion of our inpatient census,” she said.

Westmoreland County has seen increased rates of infections and deaths since October as the virus spreads throughout the community. There are 66,097 county residents who tested negative for the virus, with a total of 9,101 positive. That makes for a 12.10% positivity rate. At the beginning of November, that rate was 7.02%. Twenty-one of 89 ventilators are in use countywide, 12 of which are being used on virus patients, according to state data.

Countywide, 242 residents died after contracting the virus — with about 100 in November alone. Over the first week of December, 38 deaths were reported, according to state statistics.

About 25% of intensive care unit beds and 28% of airborne isolation beds were available Monday countywide.

Staffing and increased hospitalizations are issues facing many hospitals in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Last week, Butler Health System said its intensive care units were full at Butler Memorial and Clarion hospitals.

The increased need resulted in Excela Health staff levels dipping to a “very critical level,” Fox said.

Staff members at Excela’s hospitals — Frick in Mt. Pleasant, Latrobe and Westmoreland in Greensburg — are being pulled from other departments to help with covid patients as employees are either off sick or quarantining. Officials have sought help from traveling nurses and other outside agencies, but the cost of those services and availability have made it not feasible, Fox said.

In addition to adding space in at least one hospital, elective procedures that would require additional inpatient hospitalization are being postponed.

“It’s like a big Rubik’s Cube,” Fox said. “We’re trying as best as we can to provide all the resources that each individual patient needs.”

The health system is having difficulty finding nursing facilities where it can send patients — as many as six to eight a day — who are well enough to be discharged from the hospital, as those types of places also are facing increases in virus cases. And, while the future is full of unknowns, Fox said she expects the “relentless” pace to continue.

“It’s very difficult to predict who’s going to have a very serious case and who’s going to do relatively well,” she said.

Still, it’s important that the public continue to follow guidelines from federal and state health officials to wear masks, avoid gatherings with others and frequently wash hands, along with other good hygiene practices.

“Everyone that tests positive does not become gravely ill, and everyone that dies is not an elderly person with comorbid conditions,” said Robin Jennings, an Excela spokeswoman.