Pennsylvania officials on Monday announced the locations of four regional sites that will be set up to relieve pressure on hospitals and nursing homes coping with high Covid-19 patient counts.
Within the next seven to 10 days, the sites will open at the following skilled nursing facilities, the state said:
- Vincentian Home in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County;
- Lutheran Home in Hollidaysburg, Blair County;
- Clarview Nursing Home and Rehabilitation in Sligo, Clarion County;
- Springs at the Watermark in Philadelphia
Each site will have up to 30 beds available to allow hospitals to discharge patients earlier "when clinically safe to do so," the announcement said.
Contract staffing firm General Healthcare Resources will provide clinical staff, while the Pennsylvania National Guard will provide non-clinical staff. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Association will assist with coordination.
PEMA and the Department of Health said they expect to maintain staffing for about 90 days, "based on demand."
Officials announced early this month that the state would set up such sites, along with overflow sites for acute care patients and "strike teams" to help hospitals coping with staff shortages.
“Establishing these long-term care support sites will benefit hospitals and nursing homes caring for high numbers of patients with COVID-19,” Acting Secretary of Health Keara Klinepeter said in a statement.
Last week, the state sent its first strike team to Grand View Health in Bucks County. On Monday, Klinepeter announced the deployment of a second one, comprising nurses and respiratory therapists from General Healthcare, to Crozer Health, based in Delaware County in southeast Pennsylvania.
Federal strike teams have been deployed to hospitals in Scranton and York.
