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PARKERSBURG -- Both the WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center and Marietta Memorial Hospital are continuing to see an increase in COVID-19 cases as numbers continue to rise nationwide, officials said.
"(Camden Clark) is not currently at capacity and reports 53 hospitalized COVID-19 positive patients as of Dec. 9," said MarJean Kennedy, vice president Marketing Development, and Strategic Initiatives. "The organization continues to manage patient flow following its surge plan to continuously maximize the capability to handle an increase in patient census, critical care demands, ventilator requirements and workforce challenges.
"Additionally, we continue to increase our dedicated COVID unit capacity as we expect these volumes to continue increasing over the next few weeks. We are making decisions daily to balance access, staffing, and safety for all patients requiring care," she said.
Memorial Health System has 69 COVID patients in its system, 66 at Marietta Memorial and three at Sistersville General, said Jennifer Offenberger, associate vice president of Service Excellence.
Its COVID Clinic behind the Physicians Care Express in Marietta, 803 Pike St., continues to average about 150 cars a day for requested testing, she said.
"Our staffing has been impacted by COVID-19 as well, though we've been able to meet our patients' needs to date," Offenberger said. "Our teams are stepping up every day to work as needed to care for our community.
"If you get the chance to send words of encouragement or thanks, our teams would appreciate it. We're tired, but we are prepared to care for you and do so safely."
Marietta Memorial is continuing to care for one of the largest COVID populations in this area.
"We've been able to manage care for our region even when other hospitals have gone on diversion," Offenberger said. "Because this has happened so frequently, we did have a four hour period in the past week that we also went on diversion.
"We continue to provide care to trauma and cardiac emergencies even when on diversion, so our community doesn't need to worry if they need services during that time period."
Kennedy warned while continuing to deal with COVID-19, the area also is entering flu season.
"We owe it to ourselves, our families, and our neighbors to do what we can to protect each other from potential exposure and possible infection," she said. "We encourage everyone to wear a mask, wash hands frequently and maintain an appropriate distance from others."
Camden Clark officials recognize the value of having a loved one or caregiver involved in the patients' care, she said.
"Therefore, we want to remind all visitors of our strict visitation guidelines, including masking at all times while within the facility and patient's room," Kennedy said. "We are very thankful for and greatly value these important members of our patients' support team.
"Visitor compliance with masking and precautions allows us to maintain this critical benefit for our patients. We ask that everyone continue to respect these guidelines so that we may continue to allow one visitor per day to join our non-COVID adult inpatients between the hours of noon-7 p.m. Together, we strive to provide the most positive experience possible for our loved ones during this challenging time."
At Marietta Memorial, its teams are meeting daily to assess needs, ensure they have resources needed and evaluate capabilities in all facets of patient care, including surgical cases.
"Our hospital leaders continue to work together to plan for what comes next, on behalf of our regional hospital community to ensure we can continue to care for the people in our region, whether that care is needed for COVID-19 or any other medical condition," Offenberger said.
Marietta Memorial continues to have no visitation policies in place and is requiring masks and conducting screening at entry locations to assist in reducing the spread to their patients and community.
"We ask our community to please continue to mask, socially distance, and avoid large gatherings," Offenberger said. "This is especially difficult this time of year, but we know it can make an important impact on lessening COVID cases."
Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com