State Hospital Patients Isolated

By Walter F. Roche Jr.
Twenty-one patients at the Norristown State Hospital who have tested positive for the coronavirus have been placed in isolation units, according to a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania agency that oversees the state hospital system.
Erin James, the spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services, said the isolated patients at the state psychiatric facility are provided with "medical care that supports their recovery."
She said that if necessary the ailing patients are subsequently transferred to an area general hospital for more intensive treatment.
The spokeswoman said hospital personnel caring for the infected patients are provided with personal protective gear as recommended by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the state Health Department.
The state reported this week that 21 Norristown patients and 67 hospital employees have tested positive for the deadly virus. The number of infected patients jumped by two over the past 24 hours. The facility has 343 patients and 776 employees.
Several employees at the facility have complained about the lack of protection from the disease and the failure of the facility leaders to provide adequate and up to date information on the pandemic's impact at the Montgomery County facility.
Meanwhile officials of the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs reported no new Covid-19 deaths at the six veterans nursing homes run by the agency. However two more staffers have tested positive, pushing the total to 29.
One additional resident at the homes also tested positive pushing the total to 22. Most of the resident victims reside at the Southeastern Veterans Center in Montgomery County. Most of the deaths in the state veterans centers occurred at that same facility.
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