NJ Hospital Coronavirus: 100 Sick In 1 Night, Too Few Ventilators

TEANECK – At one New Jersey hospital, it's become a nightly race against the clock, with too many patients and not enough equipment, and not enough space.

Now, Holy Name Medical Center is like a lot of hospitals in New Jersey – particularly in the north – who are making desperate pleas for help as they reach capacity.

A spokeswoman at Holy Name Medical Center In Teaneck confirmed that the hospital has been stretched too thin – so much so that, on just one night last week, the facility was caring for 100 patients all at once who either tested positive for coronavirus or were waiting for results.

And of those patients on March 25, a quarter were on ventilators and only nine more machines were available, Jessica Griffin, a spokeswoman for the hospital, confirmed.

The hospital and its supporters, as a result, have made pleas for assistance as the Teaneck battles the worst of the outbreak in New Jersey's hardest-hit county, Bergen, which had more than 3,400 cases on Wednesday and more than 30 deaths.

The hospital's foundation said the facility is "at the epicenter of the pandemic in New Jersey."

"We are working round-the-clock caring for patients and modifying medical units with new construction," the foundation said. "But as we strive to meet the demand of new patients and those who are seriously ill with the virus, our supplies are rapidly decreasing."

The Holy Name foundation asked for a donation "of any amount will help us obtain essential supplies and equipment needed to keep our staff healthy and able to provide the care on which so many are relying during this challenging time."

You can help by clicking here.

Holy Name continues to struggle as New Jersey just had its highest one-day death toll: Gov. Phil Murphy reported during his live press conference on Wednesday that 91 more people have died of the coronavirus, and there were 3,649 new cases. Read more: Gov. Murphy: Total NJ Coronavirus Cases Top 22K, 91 More Deaths

The number of statewide cases has risen to 22,255, and 355 people have died. Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

It's gotten so bad in some areas – particularly in Bergen County – that seven hospitals were placed on "divert" status because they were just too crowded to accept enough patients, Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said on Wednesday.

"We're seeing an increasing demand on our health care system," she said. "It looks like the surge is beginning to occur."

Persichilli said 350 ventilators were expected to be delivered to New Jersey hospitals on Wednesday, noting that half of the patients with the coronavirus will need the machine.

And in a morbid turn of events, Murphy and Persichilli said they expect to need help to deal with the fatal victims as well. The state is working to secure refrigerated trucks, they said, "if we need them."

"The fact that we're having this conversation – folks, this is real," Murphy said during the press conference.

Holy Name confirmed an account from NJ Advance Media that described an atmosphere of gowns, gloves and other personal protective equipment running very low at the Teaneck facility. Patients have been coming in to the hospital very sick and moving to respiratory failure quickly, Dr. Suraj Saggar told NJ Adance Media.

The patients on the ventilators at Holy Name Medical Center on the night of March 25 were between ages 27 and 89, the hospital confirmed. Read the NJ Advance Media account here.

Adam Jarrett, Chief Medical Officer, Holy Name Medical Center, told Patch: “As we continue to see a surge in cases, Holy Name is now enacting contingency plans to accommodate this rapidly growing influx of patients.”

State officials acknowledged the problem at Holy Name and other hospitals, but they say they're doing all they can – with limited help.

Murphy said he appreciates the 350 additional ventilators, but "it's far, far from what we need."

He said New Jersey is running at full ventilator capacity. The state is working with FEMA and hospitals to allow patients to "co-vent," meaning that they're allowing two people to use the same machine at the same time.

"This is a necessary step that will buy us precious time," Murphy said. "This is real life. This is life and death."