POCATELLO — Officials with Portneuf Medical Center said Friday they’re concerned by a sudden, recent jump in serious COVID-19 cases.

On the afternoon of Sept. 24, PMC had about 10 patients on ventilators for the coronavirus. But the number of patients requiring ventilators about doubled during the ensuing hours. In response, PMC requested seven more ventilators from its parent company, Ardent Health Services, said Dr. Dan Snell, PMC’s chief medical officer.

“What it highlighted to me, which I hadn’t seen until that day, is how rapidly it can change. ... We’ve got more people in the hospital, more people on a ventilator and more people coming in the (intensive care unit) from COVID,” Snell said.

The number of patients being treated at PMC for the coronavirus, which had dipped to the low 40s in mid-September, has been hovering in the mid to high 40s more recently, Snell said.

PMC CEO Jordan Herget expressed optimism prior to the increase in demand for ventilators that the community was poised to take a turn for the better regarding its COVID-19 transmission. On Friday, however, he agreed the outlook isn’t trending in the right direction, and he thanked his staff for the “huge stress” they’ve endured while working long hours and extra shifts to maintain the quality of care for patients.

“Our situation hasn’t improved. A week later we’re very much in an emergency just like we were a week ago and our staff are being pushed to our limits,” Herget said.

Snell said the hospital opened a new wing on Monday with nine beds equipped with negative pressure for treating patients with upper respiratory diseases, such as the coronavirus. Opening the unit was made possible because PMC recently added some additional traveling contract employees Snell said. Snell said those beds filled up almost immediately.

“I’m so proud of our staff. They’ve worked really hard and it is a tough environment to work in,” Snell said.

A few weeks ago, PMC updated its employee insurance policy to increase the number of sessions employees who have had to cope with misery and death can have with mental health counselors. He said local clergy, counselors and even the hospital’s staff psychiatrist have also volunteered their services to help staff.

Snell emphasized that the hospital still has beds for those who come in. Early in the pandemic, he said people deferred hospital visits for unrelated ailments, such as heart attacks and strokes, and deaths attributed to those causes subsequently rose as a result. He encouraged area residents to come in when they get sick so that history doesn’t repeat itself.

“If you need us get here,” Snell said. “We’re going to take care of you. We are going to treat you no matter what you have.”

Snell emphasized PMC is also still operating under contingency standards of care, meaning the hospital may do some things differently but not at the expense of the quality of care. Other hospitals in Idaho have been operating under crisis standards of care, allowing them to make changes that may come at the expense of the quality of care to save as many lives as possible.

On Friday, Southeastern Idaho Public Health confirmed 127 new COVID-19 cases within its eight-county coverage area and four additional deaths, increasing the number of people in the region who have died from the disease to 308. There were also 1,158 active cases within the district.

Dr. Curtis Sandy, who works in PMC’s emergency room, has been seeing COVID-19 patients representing the “full spectrum” of ages and health backgrounds amid the ongoing surge caused by the highly contagious delta variant. He said there’s also been a recent trend toward younger people dying of COVID-19.

“We’re seeing young, healthy with COVID that are getting admitted. We’re seeing young, healthy that are going home. We’re seeing older patients with multiple comorbidities and they may have been vaccinated but they’re not that sick and they’re going home, and we’re seeing older patients that are getting admitted,” Sandy said.

A surprising number of COVID-19 patients have lingering complications long after they’re considered recovered. Sandy referenced a recent study by Oxford University and the National Institute for Health Research finding 37 percent of COVID-19 patients still have at least one longterm symptom three to six moths after being infected. Common lingering symptoms included breathing problems, fatigue, pain and anxiety.

Snell answers questions about COVID-19 every Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. via a livestream on the hospital’s Facebook page. He advises that getting vaccinated, maintaining social distance and wearing face masks are all good ways to slow the influx of patients into the hospital.

“We’ve got close to 50 people in the hospital with COVID. You take 90 percent of those away, which you can get with the vaccine, and we’re all systems go and not really worried about it,” Snell said.

PMC plans to advocate for both flu shots and COVID-19 vaccines in the hospital’s upcoming Don’t Bug Me campaign. Snell noted COVID-19 vaccines have been more heavily scrutinized than any other vaccines in history.

Snell said he used to express his frustration with people who avoided getting vaccinated but began to realize that approach made them defensive and drove them away from getting vaccinated. He’s now striving to be more patient in helping people understand “the true nature of the vaccine and its safety.”

“I want people to get vaccinated but I want people to feel safe that they can express their opinions freely and we can talk about it openly in a rational and good manner,” Snell said.

Snell said hospitals throughout Idaho have been collaborating closely to help one another weather the pandemic. They all participate in a morning call to discuss cooperating on placement of patients and other issues. Snell said PMC leaders also reevaluate their situation several times per day, understanding COVID-19 challenges are fluid.

PMC spokesperson Mary Keating said the community has been supportive of the hospital’s staff. On Thursday, for example, the local Spread the Love and Kindness campaign placed large, professionally made signs outside of the hospital thanking the employees for their hard work.