Silver Cross reached peak capacity on Monday, briefly went on bypass

As COVID-19 cases rage across Will and Grundy Counties, Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox wound up on bypass Monday evening for an hour and 45 minutes.

Debra Robbins, director of marketing and communications, said this meant patients coming by ambulance would be redirected to the next closest hospital.

“However, if the patient in the ambulance is critically ill, for example, having a heart attack or stroke, they would still come to the Silver Cross emergency department,” Robbins said in an email on Wednesday. “They would not be redirected ... even if we’re on bypass.”

Robbins said in an email Tuesday evening that Silver Cross was no longer on bypass, even though Silver Cross was caring for 140 COVID-19 inpatients on Tuesday, an all-time high for the hospital, Robbins added. The previous highest was 126 COVID-19 inpatients in 2020, Robbins said.

“We continue to care for all patients who come to Silver Cross,” Robbins said in Tuesday’s email.

On Wednesday, Silver Cross was caring for 142 COVID-19 inpatients and one patient awaiting test results, according to the Silver Cross COVID-19 dashboard. Sixteen of those COVID-19 patients were in the intensive care until and 10 were on ventilators.

To address the surge, Silver Cross has mobilized staff to areas of high need, including the emergency department and implemented a no-visitor policy, which took effect on Dec. 20, according to a news release from Silver Cross. The policy has a few exceptions, which are posted on the Silver Cross website at silvercross.org/patient-family/before/visiting-hours-policies.

On Monday, Silver Cross also started a two-week restriction of elective surgeries to conserve beds for its “growing number of inpatients,” according to the release.

Silver Cross is encouraging people with mild COVID-19 symptoms to call their primary care provider or head to its urgent care center in New Lenox or Mokena. In the emergency department, patients are triaged and treated on the severity of their conditions, so wait times can be long. Silver Cross’ urgent care centers are open seven days a week.

To schedule a COVID-19 test, visit www.silvercross.org/urgent-care.

A look at the COVID-19 numbers at other local hospitals

Morris Hospital, an 89-bed hospital, had 74 total inpatients on Wednesday, according to the Morris Hospital COVID dashboard. Forty-three had COVID-19 and only 13 were vaccinated. Eight of the 11 COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit are unvaccinated as are five of the seven COVID-19 patients on ventilators.

AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center Joliet had 116 COVID-19 positive inpatients on Wednesday and AMITA Health Adventist Medical Center Bolingbrook had 32, according to Timothy Nelson, AMITA Health’s system director for communications and media relations. Those numbers were 40 and 22, respectively, on Dec. 16, according to a Dec. 19 Herald-News story.

Neither hospital was on bypass on Wednesday, Nelson said.

Nelson said in a text message on Monday that AMITA Health as a whole “is experiencing a concerning surge in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 infection” and that many of the patients are either unvaccinated or unboosted. The AMITA Health system was treating 723 COVID-19 inpatients on Monday.

Edward Hospital was treating 120 inpatients with confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. Of these, 64 were unvaccinated, 36 had vaccinated/breakthrough status and four were partially vaccinated, according to Keith Hartenberger, system director of public relations at Edward-Elmhurst Health. On Dec. 16, Edward Hospital had 53.

Region 7, which is Will and Kankakee counties, had six total ICU beds available out of 133 on Wednesday.

All four hospitals also have a nursing shortage, too.

“We continue to encourage everyone who’s eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and to get the booster shot when appropriate, as that adds extra protection against the virus,” Robbins said in Tuesday’s email. “With more individuals vaccinated, that will help relieve the added stress on hospitals and healthcare providers.”