NorthShore Detects Over 2,000 Cases Of Coronavirus In Area

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Over the course of two weeks, the number of coronavirus patients seeking treatment through NorthShore University HealthSystem facilities rose from the low single digits to up to 100 a day, according to hospital officials.

Gabrielle Cummings, president of Highland Park hospital, said NorthShore officials decided to assign all its patients being treated for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, to other hospitals.

"We felt it was more efficient and safe for our patients and our employees to have patients centralized in the Glenbrook Hospital campus [in Glenview], so Glenbrook Hospital has virtually been turned into our COVID-19 hospital," Cummings said. "Highland Park Hospital is a campus where we are caring for non-respiratory, non-COVID patients.

"Obviously, patients will still come in through our emergency department that are symptomatic and they are treated and evaluated," she said. "And if they are presumed to be PUIs, which are persons under investigation, we will stabilize them and transfer them to Glenbrook Hospital until testing is complete."

Illinois Coronavirus Update April 7: More Than 12,000 Cases in Illinois: Don't miss updates about precautions in the Chicago area as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

Speaking during a remote Highland Park City Council meeting Monday, Cummings said the hospital group had tested more than 10,000 patients and detected over 2,000 cases in the areas it covers. Cummings said the majority of people that have tested positive are outpatients who have been asked to self-quarantine at home.

NorthShore's facilities include Evanston, Glenbrook, Highland Park, Skokie hospitals as well as the Swedish Hospital on Chicago's North Side. The health system, which last month became the first in the state to develop the capability to offer in-house testing, can currently conduct about 1,000 tests a day, according to Cummings.

"We see the numbers continuing to rise and grow and we want to the curve to flatten but we know, realistically, that that curve probably is still going to move in an upward trajectory, and so we're preparing ourselves as an organization to accommodate the increasing volume," she said.

Managing supplies of personal protective equipment, or PPE, has been a constant challenge, and shortages of blood are likely to persist for months, according to the hospital president.

"It has been an adventure to manage our PPE, to say the least. Every hour of every day we are evaluating how many surgical masks we have, how many N95 masks we have, how much blood do we have to give to patients who need blood, how many gowns do we have to care for patients," Cummings said. "So I'm happy to report that at this given moment [the evening of April 6] we have enough supplies of masks and N95s and gloves and gowns to care for all of our patients as well as the employees who are caring for our patients."

In addition to shifting patients being treated for non-coronavirus ailments to Highland Park, the hospital has shifted its staff to new assignments, according to its president. Cummings said Highland Park Hospital used to perform about 50 surgeries a day. Since non-emergency procedures were canceled two weeks ago, the hospital is down to one or zero a day.

"We've been very fortunate as a system to be able to redeploy those employees to other work queues so that they are still receiving employment and are still part of the NorthShore family," she said.

Thanking the community, Cummings said the love and compassion shown to staff at Highland Park Hospital had been overwhelming.

"We've had roses placed on all of our cars, we've had young people create signs and post them outside of the hospital on the lawn, we've had people write signs and put them in the hospital, we've had people mail us letters just because," Cummings said.

"The amount of food is overwhelming. I would encourage you to come visit us and eat but you can't come visit! We are getting more food then I can explain and we're trying to keep up with the food donations that are coming," she added. "We're calling it the 'COVID-19 pounds,' all of us are worried about gaining 19 pounds given the amount of treats and food that we're seeing."