From staff reports | Salisbury Daily Times
UPDATE: The state of Maryland has surpassed the threshold of 1,500 COVID-19 hospitalizations Thursday, triggering additional actions by hospitals, as required by a Maryland Department of Health order.
TidalHealth announced that, beginning Dec. 27, the hospital system will temporarily suspend patient visitation and pause some elective surgeries at its Salisbury and Seaford locations as hospitalizations spike across the state.
Both TidalHealth Peninsula Regional in Salisbury and TidalHealth Nanticoke in Seaford will experience a temporary pause at both hospitals of elective, non-emergency surgeries that require an overnight stay.
“A spike in COVID-19 cases, other seasonal illnesses and the many health needs of our communities, coupled with unprecedented workforce constraints have come together to create a perfect storm for health care providers,” said Dr. Sarah Arnett, vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at TidalHealth. “We are taking these steps for the safety of our patients and our health care team.”
The move comes after Gov. Larry Hogan announced new COVID-19 protocols for hospitals in prepare for a further surge in COVID-19 amid rising hospitalizations last week.
While the state of Delaware had not issued a similar directive, COVID-19 admissions and the strain caused by the census at TidalHealth Nanticoke made it necessary for the Seaford hospital to follow the same surgical reduction plan as the Salisbury hospital.
On Wednesday, the Maryland database showed 1,465 hospitalizations for the state. A week earlier, there were 1,151. A month ago, there were 508 hospitalizations in the state.
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In Easton, University of Maryland Shore Regional Health, part of University…
