Jul 8, 2020 3 min read

Washington County officials on Tuesday for the first time during the novel coronavirus pandemic discussed the unmet needs of two community hospitals with Dr. Rachel Levine, state secretary of health.

Commission Chairman Diana Irey Vaughan said Levine scheduled the telephone conference Monday night for Tuesday after a chain of events over the weekend, when County Public Safety Director Jeff Yates learned of a hospital in need of medication for a patient infected with the novel coronavirus.

He relayed this to Irey Vaughan, who reached out to Gov. Tom Wolf.

The hospital, Irey Vaughan said, was able to obtain the medication, and during the 15-minute phone call Tuesday afternoon, she “thanked the Department of Health for providing medication for a critically ill patient.”

The commission chairman did not provide the name of the hospital and said she did not know the patient’s name.

Washington and Mon Valley hospitals are in need of additional tests for COVID-19 and the drug remdesivir, Irey Vaughan said.

Canonsburg Hospital, as part of the Allegheny Health Network, is considered part of the greater Allegheny County health system pool of resources.

“I have not received any requests from Canonsburg Hospital for unmet needs,” Irey Vaughan said.

A specific number of coronavirus tests the hospitals need was not discussed, but Levine directed her staff to get in touch with the hospitals.

Washington County has seen an increase of 168 cases in the last two weeks, pushing the number of cases to 81 per 100,000 as the percentage of positive cases increased.

The age of infected individuals has changed, Irey Vaughan said, with 29% in the 19- to- 24-year-old category and 36% in the 25- to- 49-year-old grouping.

Washington Countians are mirroring what is being seen statewide: community spread of the highly contagious disease believing to have stemmed from individuals traveling and frequenting bars and restaurants.

Today, the state will be announcing what Irey Vaughan called “mitigation efforts,” but she did not have details. There has been backsliding in the state, which achieved the “green” phase last month, but state officials are not looking to immediately downgrade counties to yellow or red. The state will reassess the situation in a week or two based on the number of COVID-19 cases.

Commissioner Nick Sherman was unable to take part in the call because of a prior commitment, but his administrative assistant, Patrick Geho, monitored it on his behalf.

Participants with Irey Vaughan included Commission Vice Chairman Larry Maggi, Yates and Chief of Staff John Haynes.

Maggi, who has learned two members of his extended family were tested for COVID-19, characterized Levine’s discussion as “very forthright, very honest. Our questions she answered completely.”