COVID-19 hospitalizations on the rise at Blessing Hospital – WGEM

More patients are in the hospital due to COVID-19 than ever.

This, along with a recent surge in positive cases, has hospital officials on high alert.

Officials at Blessing Hospital said there's currently eight patients in the hospital due to COVID-19.

They said they're ready if that number were to continue to increase.

As hospitalizations at Blessing Hospital rise, so do efforts to keep everything under control.

"We're ready," Blessing Health System CEO and President Maureen Kahn said. "We've got the equipment, we've got the staff who are trained and ready to take care of the patients as they come into the organization."

Kahn said while each case is different, the hospital is equipped to handle it.

"We're managing these patients in the medical surgical units in the hospital in our negative pressure rooms, which give them the added protection of containing and giving them special airflow in those rooms," Kahn said.

She said they have enough beds and PPE for severe cases.

"We have plenty of ventilators, should a patient need to be put on a ventilator," Kahn said. "But now, we have none of our ventilators in use on any of these patients."

Kahn said they also have enough medication for ways to treat symptoms.

"Remember, these medications are not cures, but they help minimize the symptoms these patients may experience," Kahn said.

Health department officials said they want residents to take this more serious in order to help limit cases and hospitalizations.

"Everybody in our community, despite how they feel about masking, despite what they think about gathering together in this environment, need to be conscientious about your individual behaviors right now for a lot of reasons," Adams County Public Health Administrator Jerrod Welch said.

Should they have the need, Kahn said they are prepared to admit more patients.

"Eight is a large number, but we have plenty of capacity," Kahn said. "We probably have like 30 available beds right now."

Kahn said two of the patients are not from Adams County, but from surrounding counties.

She said they are still allowing visitors here at the hospital and still have a number of guidelines in place for them.

Kahn said if you have any symptoms or think you may have been exposed, you should get tested.

To do so, you can call the COVID-19 Community Hotline.

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COVID-19 hospitalizations on the rise at Blessing Hospital - WGEM