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STATE COLLEGE -- The Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College is stretched thin.
Last week, Centre County's lone hospital was diverting emergency patients because they were at capacity. However, by the weekend, the MNMC's emergency department began accepting ambulances again. Still, officials said Friday to "expect to see extraordinary measures continue to take place," as a sustained surge in COVID-19 transmission impacts the local health system.
With numbers of the deadly virus surging once again, the medical center issued a statement on Friday.
The statement came from Dr. Upendra Thaker, the hospital's chief medical officer. In the statement, he issued a warning from Mount Nittany officials -- that increasing COVID transmission levels have led to more hospitalizations, a situation exacerbated by difficulties discharging patients to long-term care facilities that are dealing with their own capacity constraints.
"As long as the high level of community transmission continues, we will have to take steps to address the issues that arise from the high volume of patients who are also requiring a high level of care," Thaker said in the statement. "It's not often hospitals have to take extreme measures like diverting ambulances, but this strain is a direct result of what's happening in the community and the region. We will have to make operational adjustments to support continuity of care to the best of our ability."
For now, that means all elective surgeries requiring an overnight inpatient stay at Mount Nittany Medical Center may be postponed through this week. Community members seeking emergency care can expect significantly longer wait times and visitations remain restricted.
For those who need emergency care, there are other options. In Clinton County, there is UPMC Lock Haven and Geisinger. In Lycoming County, there's UPMC Williamsport. In Clearfield County, Penn Highlands is the lone option.
As far as MNMC is concerned, beds were fairly full heading into the weekend. As of Friday, the 260-bed hospital had 59 COVID-19 inpatients, six more than on Thursday, with 10 in intensive care (up three) and eight on ventilators (up one). The patients ranged in age from 21 to 87. A total of 18 patients were fully vaccinated and 41 were not vaccinated.
Since mid-September, the medical center has had an average of 34 COVID patients each day, which hospital officials described as the longest sustained period of a high COVID census at any point during the 21 months of the pandemic.
"Things are as challenging as they have ever been during the past 21 months of the COVID-19 pandemic," Thaker said in the release. "Caring for COVID patients is like operating a hospital within a hospital. It takes extraordinary resources to operate at this capacity."
Officials at MNMC urged community members to get vaccinated, social distance, avoid large gatherings, wear a mask in public indoor spaces and wash their hands frequently.
For more information on Mount Nittany Medical Center, visit www.mountnittany.org.