CLAREMONT — Valley Regional Hospital reached a new pandemic high over the weekend of 12 inpatients with COVID-19, according to a spokesman.
The Claremont hospital, which has 25 beds, is at 100% capacity and the ability to transfer patients elsewhere is “at a critical level,” said Tim McNulty, Valley Regional’s spokesman.
“Bed availability is very limited and we now have patients in our emergency department awaiting transfer with no disposition,” he said. “ICU beds are extremely limited.”
In searches that span New England and New York state, Valley Regional providers are reaching out to 50 hospitals, on average, to find placement for a critical care patient, he said.
Intensive care beds were already in short supply in northern New England in late October before COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Twin States climbed to the current highs of 84 in Vermont and 392 in New Hampshire, where COVID-19-related hospitalizations have increased 43% in the past two weeks.
Officials at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon declined to detail under what circumstances the hospital, New Hampshire’s only academic medical center, is accepting transfers, but said it is getting numerous requests.
“We receive upward of 60-plus requests per day for transfers, and the variables change daily,” Cassidy Smith, a D-H spokeswoman, said on Monday.
Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center in Windsor, a member of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health system, has 25 hospital beds and a 10-bed acute rehabilitation unit. It is currently managing patients in its emergency department that would typically be transferred to a tertiary-care hospital, said Dr. Joseph Perras, Mt. Ascutney’s CEO.
“Our ER nurses, physicians assistants and hospitalists are providing critical care services while we work to arrange transport to tertiary centers,” Perras said. “DHMC is doing everything they can to take critical patients when capacity and staffing allows for it.”
Gifford Medical Center in Randolph had no COVID-19 patients on ventilators and was not postponing surgical procedures on Tuesday, said Dr. Josh White, Gifford’s medical director.
But, he added, “That could change at any time.”
Valley Regional’s McNulty said it remains unknown whether the surge, which has been particularly acute in Sullivan County, will worsen. He noted that rates of hospitalization have been higher for unvaccinated people than for those who are vaccinated.
“Only time will tell if we see additional surge in cases following the Thanksgiving holiday,” he said.
On Monday, the Claremont School District reported 14 new cases of COVID-19, according to the district’s online dashboard.
LEBANON — Harvest Hill, an assisted living facility on the campus of Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, has an outbreak of COVID-19, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services announced on Tuesday.
The outbreak at the Lebanon facility includes 31 residents and five workers.
Other long-term care facilities with ongoing outbreaks in the Upper Valley include: Grafton County Department of Corrections in North Haverhill, 11 cases; Wheelock Terrace in Hanover, five cases; Woodcrest Village Assisted Living in New London, 12 cases; Woodlawn Care Center in Newport, 14 cases; Margaret Pratt Community in Bradford, Vt., with 13 cases; and Valley Vista in Bradford with 12 cases.
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Elm Hill School is closed this week due to a COVID-19 outbreak, according to the superintendent.
The school, which includes 250 students in grades K-2, has seen 34 cases of COVID-19 in the past two weeks, Springfield Superintendent Zack McLaughlin wrote in a Sunday evening message to families. It is expected to reopen next Monday.
“With the high number of positive COVID cases at Elm Hill and the high likelihood of transmission happening within the school, we felt the health threat to students, families, and staff was too great to just reopen like this was not happening,” McLaughlin wrote in a follow-up message to families on Monday.
The school is planning to offer drive-through PCR testing to all students and employees on Thursday, he said.
“Our goal is to decrease transmission so that children can return to school in a safe environment,” he said.
In addition to the cases at Elm Hill, Springfield’s other three schools also had cases in the past week, according to the Vermont Department of Health. Those included five at Union Street School; three at Springfield High School; and two at Riverside Middle School.
WEATHERSFIELD — The Weathersfield Selectboard on Monday voted to mandate masks in town buildings, including Martin Memorial Hall, the 1879 Schoolhouse and the library, according to the town’s Facebook page.
The mandate is in effect for 30 days. The board is slated to determine if it will reinstate the requirement for another 30 days at the end of December.
Town office employees are not required to wear their masks when they are alone in their office, but they are when residents enter the office and when they are within 6 feet of other town employees.
CLAREMONT — Walk-in vaccine clinics are planned for Sullivan and Orange counties this week.
Claremont is scheduled to host New Hampshire’s mobile vaccination van twice this week. First, the van is slated to come to the Claremont District Office of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services at 17 Water St. on Thursday from 1 to 4 p.m. Second, the van is scheduled to come to the Claremont Middle School, 107 South St., on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Both Claremont clinics are open to anyone 5 and older and will offer all three vaccines authorized for use in the U.S. including Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer.
Three walk-in clinics for people ages 12 and older are scheduled at the Waits River Valley School in East Corinth on Dec. 4 and 27, and Jan. 17. The clinics are scheduled to run from 8 a.m. to noon and offer all three types of vaccines.
Nora Doyle-Burr can be reached at ndoyleburr@vnews.com or 603-727-3213.
