MORGANTOWN — During Wednesday’s COVID-19 briefing, COVID-19 Czar Clay Marsh talked about the nationwide surge in cases, saying people are getting sicker, hospitals are filling up and some states are looking at rationing care.
For West Virginia, Thursday’s state coronavirus dashboard showed 4,747 active cases, with 402 reported in previous 24 hours.
So The Dominion Post contacted WU Medicine and Mon Health System to see how Ruby Memorial and Mon Health Medical Center are doing. Neither are having any capacity problems, they reported.
WVUM spokesman Anthony Condia said, “We’re always busy at Ruby with a high census, but we’re not being overwhelmed by COVID cases – far from it. We also have plenty of capacity.”
Condia provided some charts. On showed hospital census – patient count – for facilities across the WVUM system. As of 4:30 a.m Wednesday, Ruby was at 89% capacity, with 527 beds filled and 39 available. United Hospital Center in Clarksburg was at 87% capacity with 229 beds filled and 33 open.
Ruby had 81 adult ICU beds filled with two available; UHC had 19 filled and one available. WVUM, systemwide, had 155 adult ICU beds filled and 26 available.
Condia also provided a chart of COVID-19-positive patients across the system. There were 61 total, with 21 at Ruby and eight at UHC. COVID-19-negative patients totaled 608, with 263 who’d been tested negative at Ruby and 58 at UHC (not every patient gets tested).
Condia said Ruby has 19 employees out of work right now and in quarantine due to COVID-19. He didn’t believe any are hospitalized.
At Mon Health Medical Center, Chief Administrative Officer Mark Gilliam said they’re not experiencing a COVID-related bed shortage. “We are actively monitoring trends and statistics in the region and throughout the state to ensure we are prepared to handle any influx or surge should it occur.”
Asked if any staff have tested COVID positive, Mon Health said, “Mon Health System does not share specific numbers, however, we do report to state and county health departments all positive cases. We follow CDC and state guidelines and remain proactive in protecting our staff, patients and caregivers to prevent potential transmission of the virus, including enhanced patient and staff screening practices and clinical protocols across all Mon Health sites.”
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