
Hospital beds are filling up and medical staffs are being stretched to the limit as Pennsylvania’s health care system copes with a growing number of seriously ill COVID-19 patients. Nearly half of all hospitals in the south-central region of the state, and a third of those in the southwest, anticipate staffing shortages within a week. That’s according to the state Department of Health. Nurses in the Philadelphia area say they’re overloaded with COVID patients, impacting the quality of care they can provide. And Pennsylvania’s top health official said Thursday she’s worried about modeling that shows the state will run out of intensive care beds this month.