COVID-19 Surge Brings High Bucks Co. Hospitalizations, Plus Hospital 'Staffing Challenges'

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — Hospitalization rates continue to rise in Bucks County, according to the latest metrics reported by the Bucks County Health Improvement Partnership.

Of 286 patients hospitalized in Bucks Tuesday, 176 were unvaccinated, according to the organization's report. Of the 40 in the ICU, 31 are unvaccinated, and 18 of the 21 people on ventilators in the county are unvaccinated.

Doylestown Health hospitals are in a "challenging situation" due to increased volumes of positive COVID-19 patients and post-holiday staffing struggles, according to a representative.

A spokesperson told Patch Tuesday that hospital capacity is "as expected" during the surge, with a volume of hospitalized patients much higher than normal.

"The combination of markedly increased volumes and staffing challenges due to the number of associates who are sick and unable to work has created a very challenging situation," Allyson Gilmore, spokesperson for Doylestown Health, wrote in an email to Patch.

She said approximately 3 percent of Doylestown Health associates had tested positive for COVID-19 in the period after the holidays, but that "those numbers continue to decrease on a daily basis."

Hospitalization rates remain elevated for patients at Doylestown Health, too.

"While the unvaccinated population is the minority of individuals in our community, they represent a significant majority of those hospitalized," Chief Medical Officer Dr. Scott Levy said. "Overwhelmingly, those in the ICU and requiring ventilators are not vaccinated."

Levy said those vaccinated people who are hospitalized usually have less severe cases.

"[F]or those vaccinated the disease is most often self-limited; and we are observing that those requiring admission appear to do well with a relatively modest length of stay," he said.

Doylestown Health encouraged anyone in need of emergency services to waste no time in visiting the emergency room, despite potentially lengthy wait times due to influenza and COVID-19 infections.

The hospital has not shut down any emergency services.

"In the cases of individuals experiencing mild flu-like or covid symptoms, do not seek emergency room care unless you have shortness of breath or difficult breathing," Gillmore said. "The emergency department should only be used for emergencies, not for COVID testing for mild symptoms or travel-related issues."

Bucks County Health Improvement Partnership updates their data here.

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