COVID Surge Putting Extra Strain On Some Morristown-Area Hospitals: What The Know

MORRISTOWN, NJ — New Jersey hit its highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations since May 2020. Local data indicates strain on some hospitals within the Morristown area.

New Jersey's number of hospital patients confirmed or suspected to have the virus has increased nearly five-fold in the past month to 5,155 as of Monday. In North Jersey, that figure has increased nearly six-fold in one month, increasing from 402 to 2,401 patients with confirmed or suspected COVID.

The New Jersey Hospital Association has urged people not to delay medical care, including trips to the hospital.

Here are some of the important data points for hospitals in the Morristown area.

COVID-19 Inpatients

Data from the University of Minnesota's COVID-19 Hospitalization Tracking Project, which monitors hospitals nationwide, indicates more strain on some local hospitals compared to just a few weeks ago.

The ratio of COVID-19 hospitalizations to total beds provides insight on how much strain a hospital is under. The ratio becomes concerning when it crosses 10 percent, and anything more than 20 percent represents "extreme stress," according to a framework the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation developed.

Here's what the data shows for hospitals in the Morristown area for the week of Dec. 24-30:

• Morristown Medical Center: COVID-19 patients occupied 11 percent of adult inpatient beds.
• Saint Clare's Denville Hospital: COVID-19 patients occupied 8 percent of adult inpatient beds.
• Chilton Medical Center (Pompton Plains): COVID-19 patients occupied 20 percent of adult inpatient beds.
• Overlook Medical Center (Summit): COVID-19 patients occupied 16 percent of adult inpatient beds.
• Saint Barnabas Medical Center (Livingston): COVID-19 patients occupied 18 percent of adult inpatient beds.

ICU Data

ICU capacity also indicates hospital strain, hospital-capacity experts told NPR. When COVID-19 patients fill more than 30 percent of ICU beds, it suggests a hospital is under "high stress."

In Morris County, Chilton Medical Center was the only hospital surpassing a 30 percent rate in the week of Dec. 24-30, hitting 34 percent of adult ICU beds used by COVID-19 patients. Morristown Medical Center had a 10 percent ratio, while Saint Clare's Denville Hospital's stood at 16 percent.

Just outside of Morris County, COVID-19 patients used 8 percent of adult ICU beds at Overlook Medical Center. Patients with the virus occupied 18 percent of adult ICU beds at Saint Barnabas Medical Center.

How Much Room Is Left In Hospitals?

In the week of Dec. 24-30, 34 percent of Morris County's adult inpatient beds remained empty. Forty-eight percent of adult ICU beds weren't occupied.

New Jersey's COVID hospitalizations increased more than 50 percent in the last week, state officials said Monday. Gov. Phil Murphy hasn't revived statewide restrictions or mandates during the omicron outbreak. But New Jersey officials asked for federal and National Guard strike teams to fill in for depleted hospital and nursing-home staffs.

"The number of cases we're seeing today blow anything we've seen since the start of the pandemic out of the water," Murphy said. "Ensuring the ability of our health care system to serve those who are the sickest is among our very highest priorities. The last thing we can allow is for our hospitals to be overrun." Read more: COVID-19 Cases, Staff Shortages Put Strain On NJ Hospitals

State officials reported data on breakthrough cases from the week of Dec. 13-19. Fully vaccinated individuals represented only 17 of the state's 1,804 COVID hospitalizations. One fully vaccinated person died from the virus, compared to 135 others the virus killed.

"We’ll get a more complete picture in the coming weeks’ breakthrough reports as to how many of these hospitalizations among vaccinated folks are for a COVID illness," Murphy said, "especially whether they have received a booster, as opposed to hospitalizations for another reason and that they test positive for the virus anyway. This is the snapshot that we have. Thankfully, though, we continue to see a remaining protection against hospitalization and death in these individuals as the numbers show."

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