Our hospitals need your help ending COVID-19
During the past two years, hospitals and health care workers in the Lehigh Valley — and throughout Pennsylvania — have been steadfast in their commitment to protect the health of our communities while responding to a global pandemic that changed life as we know it.
Now more than ever, as COVID-19 continues to threaten our communities and overwhelm our health care system, we need your help.
COVID-19 remains a very real threat, especially as the highly contagious omicron variant spreads like wildfire. The hospitals, health systems and health care workers responding to it are in crisis.
Hospitals in the Lehigh Valley and around the state are strained. Many throughout Pennsylvania are beyond capacity. Hospitals have been caring for more patients due to COVID19 this month than at any other time during the pandemic.
The health care heroes who have spent nearly two years on the front lines caring for and saving the lives of our friends, neighbors and loved ones are worn down and stressed. Yet they continue to give their all to keep our communities safe.
We need your help to alleviate the strain on our hospitals and health systems so they can provide timely and high-quality care to all who need it, including you and your family.
If you have not been vaccinated for COVID-19 and the flu already, we urge you to get vaccinated as soon as possible. We cannot stress enough that vaccination remains the most effective defense we have against COVID-19.
The overwhelming majority of
patients with COVID-19 being cared for in our hospitals have not been vaccinated. While nearly three quarters of Pennsylvania adults are fully vaccinated, people who are not vaccinated accounted for 58% of new COVID19 cases and 75% of hospitalizations
during December.
Over the past year, people who are not vaccinated have been four times more likely to die from COVID-19.
Please get your COVID-19 booster if you are eligible. Researchers are finding that even with the new omicron variant, people who are boosted are less likely to become sick with COVID-19 and far less likely to require hospital care.
We urge you to take steps to protect yourself, your community and the people you care about. Wear a mask in public, especially when indoors or when social distancing is not feasible. Stay home if you develop COVID-19 symptoms.
If you have symptoms or come into close contact with someone who has COVID-19, get tested at your local pharmacy, public testing site or urgent care center. You can also order free at-home tests from www.covidtests.gov.
Please help keep our hospital emergency departments available to treat patients who need acute care by seeking routine COVID-19 tests in nonemergency settings.
Additionally, please keep up with your medical appointments. Postponing routine care now can lead to bigger problems later, jeopardizing your health and putting greater strain on hospitals.
Remember that not every medical concern requires a trip to the emergency room. For minor illnesses and injuries, you can find the care you need via your doctor’s office, an urgent care center or a telehealth appointment; however, go to the nearest emergency room immediately for severe injuries or signs of a serious illness.
We are all “burned out” by this pandemic and ready for it to be over. But now more than ever, we must all do our part to protect our communities and loved ones.
The little steps you take every day will make the biggest difference.
Richard A. Anderson is president and CEO of St. Luke’s University Health Network. Andy Carter is president and CEO of The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania. Brian Nester is president and CEO of Lehigh Valley Health Network.