Penn State Health continues to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic at its hospitals and inpatient clinics. As the number of COVID-19 positive patients in the region continues to decline, the health system is updating some of its COVID-19 management guidelines and vaccination clinic operations.
Dedicated vaccination clinics
In response to a decline in demand for vaccination appointments, Penn State Health has consolidated its vaccine operations. Beginning Tuesday, June 1, the health system reduced hours and days open at its two remaining dedicated vaccination sites.
- Berks County dedicated vaccination site, 2400 Bernville Road, Reading
- Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Saturdays, 8 a.m. to noon
- Dauphin County dedicated vaccination site, 30 E. Granada Ave. #200, Hershey
- Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
- Saturdays, 8 a.m. to noon
Both sites will continue to offer appointments for adults to receive Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, and for youth ages 12 to 17 to receive the Pfizer vaccine. Information on how to register and schedule appointments can be found here.
Penn State Health continues to host pop-up vaccination site across Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon and Lancaster counties.
Visitation guidance
Penn State Health recognizes the importance of family and support persons in health care. The health system is revising its visitation guidelines, effective June 3. The updated visitation guidelines include the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, St. Joseph Medical Center, Holy Spirit Medical Center and all Penn State Health Medical Group locations.
Adult patients of emergency departments, adult inpatients, adult outpatient surgery patients and adult outpatient procedure patients may now have one family/support person per day. The previous guidelines limited visitors to only one per stay. Pediatric patients of emergency departments, pediatric inpatients, pediatric outpatient surgery patients and pediatric outpatient procedure patients may now have two adults/support persons per day, instead of per stay.
Previous labor and delivery visitation guidance remains in place.
Penn State Health will continue to make iPads available for communication between care teams, patients and families.
Penn State Health will continue to screen all family/support persons who wish to enter any facility, and no one with COVID symptoms will be permitted to enter. Due to the various states of health or illness of people served in health care facilities, everyone entering the facilities will also be required to wear a mask at all times and maintain social distancing guidelines, regardless of vaccination status.
The adult and pediatric visitation guidelines are available on Penn State Health’s website.
Public COVID-19 dashboard
For more than a year, Penn State Health has maintained a public COVID-19 dashboard that provided the number of COVID-19 positive patients and patients with suspected COVID-19 that each of its hospitals – Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, St. Joseph Medical Center and Holy Spirit Medical Center – are caring for. Information also included number of patients in critical care, as well as cumulative patients tested, patients discharged and fatalities.
Due to the decline in cases in the region and indications of limited interest in the data, Penn State Health will not continue to update the public dashboard. Information on COVID-19 inpatients at acute care facilities will continue to be available upon request.
The dashboard launched on March 31, 2020, as the first such resource in the region. It served to provide members of the public, public officials and the media a transparent, real-time snapshot of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Penn State staff and health care facilities.