By Tim Mastro

SEAFORD — Sussex County’s hospitals have never seen anything like this.

With record-setting admissions, spurred on by the current COVID-19 surge and the highly transmissible omicron variant, both TidalHealth Nanticoke and Beebe Healthcare have been forced to make adjustments. TidalHealth entered Crisis Standard of Care protocols last Monday while Beebe postponed all non-emergency surgeries as of Thursday.

“We’ve never experienced this level of volume and intensity of demand as compared to capacity,” said TidalHealth CEO Dr. Steve Leonard on Wednesday. “We’ve had some busy flu seasons before, about 20 years ago we had a really busy flu season, but nothing like we’re experiencing these days.”

“The number of patients with COVID has definitely exceeded anything we’ve seen before,” said Beebe chief population health officer Dr. Bill Chasanov on Thursday.

Sussex County reached an all-time high of 193 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 on Wednesday — the same day Delaware set a record with 759 hospitalized with the virus statewide. According to the most recent statistics from the Delaware Division of Public Health as of Friday at 6 p.m., there are 173 COVID-19 hospitalizations in Sussex County and 716 in Delaware.

Since Dec. 1, TidalHealth has collectively experienced more than a 300% increase in admissions for COVID-19. It entered Crisis Standard of Care along with ChristianaCare, Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic-Saint Francis and Bayhealth, who also has a Sussex County campus in Milford. It is the first time in the 125-year history of TidalHealth that its hospitals have been operating under Crisis Standards of Care.

Dr. Leonard said Crisis Standards of Care protocols will allow TidalHealth to extend availability of resources and staffing to handle the influx of volume. The health system had been operating under contingency-based care during each of the pandemic’s surges, which allowed it to flex staff with demand for care.

It’s unknown how long TidalHealth will operate under Crisis Standards of Care, but the next four-to-six weeks are expected to be difficult in Delaware and Maryland, according to pandemic models TidalHealth has looked at from the CDC and other trusted sources.

Dr. Leonard said the hospital is following a rubric by the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University which outlines certain thresholds to help with decision-making for moving back to contingency-based care.

He added the Crisis Standards of Care should not affect those who need emergency care, such as anyone experiencing chest pain or stroke-like symptoms.

“The patient really shouldn’t see changes,” Dr. Leonard said. “If you have a serious injury or illness, you need to come to the hospital. There’s no doubt about that. We don’t want to take away from what we’re providing to the patient, but it might just look a little different.”

Those seeking COVID-19 testing should not come to the emergency department however, as hospitals’ throughout the state have dealt with this issue in already overcrowded emergency rooms the last few weeks. A list of testing sites in Delaware can be found at de.gv/gettested or curative.com.

Due to fewer available beds, hospitals have been asking individuals with less serious needs to go to their primary care doctor or an urgent care center. Dr. Chasanov said Beebe has focused on providing education to the community across its communication channels to help people identify where to go for care.

He also asked for patience and understanding from the community during this stressful time.

“Understand we’re very busy, we’re full, this is prolonged capacity,” Dr. Chasanov said. “People are in the emergency department waiting to get a bed upstairs. People may have longer waits than we want them to have in the emergency department. But we’re absolutely equipped to continue to take care of our community. If you need emergency care, we’re here. We’re doing everything we can to make sure everybody gets the best care. With that being said, knowing that healthcare worker shortages exist, my colleagues that are working are working extremely hard, are working a lot, are exhausted and they’re sacrificing time away from their families in order to take care of everyone who needs to be taken care of.

“This is a frustrating time for everyone, for the community and as us as part of the community providing healthcare. People are anxious, people are upset, people want this to be over and healthcare workers are taking a little bit of a beating from that. We were all heroes at the beginning in spring of 2020 that led into the summer. There were signs on the front thanking people and sidewalk chalk out front. I’m not asking for that but I think it’s extremely important to remember that we’re all human and that we have to be kind to one another.”

Dr. Chasanov added he expects Beebe to be operating at its capacity for the next few weeks. The situation is critical and can change at any moment.

Postponing non-emergent surgeries should free up staff and beds to be reassigned for inpatient care, Dr. Chasanov said.

“We’re here to provide care to the community,” Dr. Chasanov said. “And we will find a way to do that.”

Dr. Leonard said the community can help by taking the necessary steps to protect themselves against COVID-19 such as mask-wearing, social-distancing and hand-washing.

He stressed the importance of vaccinations — 60% (241 of 405) of new COVID-19 hospital admissions in Delaware for the week of Jan. 3-9 were unvaccinated, according to DPH statistics, while 90% of current hospitalizations have not received their booster.

“Take it seriously and please pay attention to the communication out there,” Dr. Leonard said. “You want to wear a mask, you want to distance, you want to wash your hands and you still want to be vaccinated. At the end of the day, the people who do better with COVID are those who are vaccinated and boosted when appropriate. That is still the best thing you can do. People who are vaccinated are better prepared for COVID. Exposure rates are going to be very high and it’s almost a matter of time before you’re exposed. To best position yourself, be vaccinated.”