All Delco Hospitals At Capacity, Springfield ER Closing

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — As the coronavirus surges in Delaware County, officials said all hospitals across the county are at maximum capacity.

During the Delaware County Council meeting last week, Delaware County medical adviser Dr. Lisa O’Mahony said all six facilities in the county are full.

According to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, 251 patients are being treated in Delaware County hospitals for coronavirus. Of those 251, 25 are in intensive care units and 22 are on ventilators.

The state reports just three adult ICU beds are open in the county.

Delaware County medical adviser Dr. Lisa O’Mahony told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the county's hospitals do not have staff to provide routine care.

"You don’t want to cut yourself while you’re making your bagel because you don’t want to need sutures at this point," she said.

State data shows Delaware County higher levels of coronavirus indicators, as measured by the state's early warning dashboard, than Pennsylvania as a whole and the surrounding counties.

See the latest figures on coronavirus in Delaware County here.

With the surge in cases, Crozer Health will temporarily suspend services in the Springfield Hospital emergency department and ancillary services beginning Friday.

Closures at Springfield Hospital include the emergency department, pathology, lab and medical imaging.

"Delaware County understands Crozer's decision to temporarily close the Emergency Room at Springfield Hospital and deploy staff to area hospitals in need," the county said in a statement Tuesday. "All hospitals in the region have been experiencing immense challenges during the pandemic and the recent surge in COVID-19 cases creates an additional burden. The County encourages residents to stay home if they are feeling sick and utilize a local testing site to get tested and only visit the Emergency Room if necessary. We look forward to working with Crozer to restore services to the Springfield Hospital location in the future."

Outpatient services — including Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, wound care, cardiac rehab services, and physician offices — in the Healthplex Pavilion office building will remain open and operational.

Crozer Health hopes to resume all services as soon as it is safely possible and will reassess its operations to make any modifications in the best interest of its patients and staff.

"We regret having to take these steps, but our patients’ safety is always our top priority," said Peter Adamo, Crozer Health CEO. "Our patient care resources have been strained due to the national nursing shortage and many colleagues out sick with COVID-19, echoing the challenges faced by other health systems locally and across the country. Therefore, we need to reallocate resources to other locations throughout the system to continue providing safe, high-quality care to our patients."

According to the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania hospital are experiencing a 27 percent registered vacancy rate and a 45.5 percent vacancy rate for nursing support positions, like nurse assistants and patient care assistants.