Influx Of COVID-19 Patients Creates Staffing Concerns At NCH

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — With a dramatic surge in hospitalizations due to the omicron variant, hospitals like Northwest Community Hospital are seeing a vast increase in the number of new COVID-19 inpatents every day. There are currently 103 COVID-10 patients at the hospital, with six in the intensive care unit as of Tuesday.

"The number of beds is actually not the concern, it’s the capacity of skilled staff to care for the inpatients," Amy Jo Steinbruecker, media relations manager for the hospital, told Patch. "The situation continues to be fluid and changes day by day."

Steinbruecker said, on average, at least 50 new COVID-19 patients are coming into the hospital each day through the emergency department. NCH, an acute hospital, has 489 beds total.

NCH is part of NorthShore University HealthSystem.

RELATED: Pritzker Says 'Frighteningly Limited' ICU Beds In IL As COVID Surges

On Monday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said bed availability is in the single digits in three Illinois regions. That includes Region 7, encompassing Will and Kankakee counties, which had just six available ICU beds and was at 95 percent ICU capacity as of Monday.
Statewide, 316 of the 2,977 ICU beds were available on Monday afternoon. A total of 1,086, or more than a third of those in the ICU, are COVID-19 patients, according to state health data.

More than 650 of those hospitalized with COVID-19 are on ventilators, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported.

"COVID positivity rates in our communities are climbing, and we are experiencing dramatic increase in COVID acute care needs," Gabrielle Cummings, president at Highland Park Hospital, said Monday during a press conference with Pritzker.

Cummings said cases have spiked over 200 percent at the four NorthShore University HealthSystem hospitals (Evanston, Skokie, Glenbrook and Highland Park). That number represents an increase from 46 patients to more than 138 since the first week in December. She added that the overwhelming majority of these patients are unvaccinated.

Glenview's NorthShore Glenbrook has been temporarily converted into all inpatient COVID-19 care settings. Of 173 beds at the hospital, 131 are currently occupied by COVID-19 patients as of Tuesday morning, according to hospital officials. Sixteen are being treated in the hospital's intensive care unit. The new policy went into effect on Jan. 1.

RELATED: Glenbrook Hospital Beds Filling Up With COVID-19 Patients

NorthShore has suspended all non-emergent elective procedures through Jan. 14.

Illinois has been averaging around 23,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, according to IDPH data. Last week, the state exceeded 30,000 cases in a single day, breaking a previous record.

On Monday, IDPH reported 20,866 new cases coming out of another holiday weekend, when testing tends to lag, along with 30 deaths. The statewide positivity rate stands at 12.8 percent.

Last week, Illinois pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations were up 38 percent.

RELATED: 'Ongoing Influx' At North Shore Hospitals Expected Through Month