First patient hospitalized at Mount Nittany in Centre County for COVID-19

Centre County has 28 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

• Anne Danahy/WPSU
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Anne Danahy is a reporter at WPSU. She was a reporter for nearly 12 years at the Centre Daily Times in State College, Pennsylvania, where she earned a number of awards for her coverage of issues including the impact of natural gas development on communities.
  
  She earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and a master's degree in media studies from Penn State.
  
  Before joining WPSU, she worked as a writer and editor at Strategic Communications at Penn State and with the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute before that.
  
  She hosts a Q&A program for Centre County's government and education access station and teaches a news writing and reporting class at Penn State.

 Min Xian / WPSU

Mount Nittany Medical Center confirmed its first patient hospitalized for COVID-19 April 1.

(State College) — A patient with COVID-19 is being cared for at Mount Nittany Medical Center in Centre County, the first at the hospital, according to a news release.

The patient tested positive Wednesday evening. No other details were provided about the situation except that the patient is receiving care.

In a news release, Chief Medical Officer Nirmal Joshi said the center has “been preparing for months for this situation.”

“Guided by our rigorous adherence to CDC procedures and protocols and the expertise of our Mount Nittany Health staff, proper protocols are in place for the patient’s care, and our facilities continue to be safe for our employees, providers and patients. The health and safety of our community, patients and staff is our highest priority,” Joshi said.

Centre County has 28 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, according to Thursday’s numbers from the state Department of Health. There are 7,016 cases in Pennsylvania, an increase of more than 1,200 from Wednesday.

Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said during Thursday’s press conference that the state is speaking with the hospitals and health systems every day.

“We’re working with the hospitals, with the health systems, with the hospital associations to prepare for this surge, which all models say will occur over the next number of weeks or a month,” Levine said.

Gov. Tom Wolf has put the entire state under stay-at-home orders and canceled K-12 schooling indefinitely.

“The most important thing we need to remember is to try to prevent the surge from potentially overwhelming our health care system,” Levine said. “That is why prevention efforts and mitigation efforts the governor has put in place, including statewide stay-at-home order so important.”

Penn State Health has opened several drop-off locations where people can donate medical supplies. The initiative comes amid forecasts of medical supply shortages in hard-hit areas.

In a news release, Penn State Health CEO Steve Massini said, “Events are changing rapidly and we know we could experience shortage issues in the future.”

Wanted supplies include new and unused disposable exam gloves, surgical or medical masks,  disinfecting wipes and thermometers. They do not want homemade face masks.

Drop-off points include the Benner Pike Clinic, 303 Benner Pike, State College.

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