x
Breaking News
More () »

St. Luke's Monroe Campus: steady COVID-19 patient admissions, fewer non-COVID patients

Hospital officials at St. Luke's say it is safe for people with non-COVID related illnesses to come to the hospital to get treatment.

STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Monroe County now has 1,024 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 42 confirmed deaths due to the illness.

RELATED: COVID-19 Update in Pennsylvania for Thursday, April 23

At St. Luke's Hospital-Monroe Campus near Stroudsburg, critical care doctors are giving an update on what physicians are seeing at the hospital's ICU.

"Week over week, even over the last two weeks, we've seen our volumes be about the same. We are seeing about the same amount of patients being admitted with COVID-19, but we are seeing fewer patients in the ICU," said Dr. Eric Tesoriero, critical care anesthesiologist.

Doctors are also seeing fewer patients coming to the hospital with non-COVID related illnesses.

"They are down, and we don't actually know why. We are all perplexed as to where those patients are currently," said Dr. Tesoriero.

Dr. Eric Tesoriero is a critical care anesthesiologist and deals with both COVID and non-COVID patients at the hospital. He says it's important for people to know it is completely safe to get medical attention at the hospital. 

"You can still absolutely have a heart attack, stroke any of those things now. The only place you can be treated appropriately for those things is in the hospital. If you have signs or symptoms concerning any emergencies, please call 911 or talk to your doctor," said Dr. Tesoriero.

Hospital staff stress that they've taken necessary precautions to protect all patients through the pandemic and are telling people not to manage a serious illness at home.

"If you would delay care, any of those conditions could worsen and become a much bigger emergency, so we have ways to make sure in the emergency room that patients without COVID are not necessarily near those with COVID," said Dr. Tesoriero.

Doctors at St. Luke's say if you are experiencing symptoms of any kind, call your health care provider first. If they recommend going to the emergency room, know it is safe to go.

Before You Leave, Check This Out