Nationwide Children's Hospital will start admitting young adults if other Columbus-area hospitals reach capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Columbus Dispatch reports that Nationwide Children's will accept patients ages 26 and younger who are referred by OhioHealth, Mount Carmel Health System or the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, which have started to report problems with staffing and space as coronavirus hospitalizations surge.
Nationwide Children's says it will not accept transfers of patients with COVID-19.
Gov. Mike DeWine says the recent resurgence of coronavirus cases has hit hospitals especially hard. On Monday, the Ohio Department of Health reported a record 3,387 people are currently hospitalized for COVID-19, with 850 patients in the ICU and 407 on ventilators.
"One month we had 1,000 people in our hospitals in Ohio," DeWine said on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday. "A week ago, just a week ago, we had 2,000, now we have over 3,000. So it's rolling through Ohio."
Cleveland Clinic last week temporarily stopped non-essential surgeries, a move that health officials may be required across the state if the surge continues.
DeWine recently hinted at another shutdown of some businesses, possibly coming this week. He issued revised health orders in the last week to enforce the statewide mask mandate and limit gatherings like weddings and funerals, which have been tied to the disease's spread.
