Medical staff at Lehigh Valley Hospital - Hazleton hold up signs, congratulating a COVID-19 patient being sent home.

Submitted photo

While it may seem as though there is only bad news about COVID-19, medical professionals from two hospitals say there are some things to be cautiously optimistic about as the battle against the virus rages on.

Dr. Jodi Lenko, vice chair for the department of medicine at Lehigh Valley Hospital Hazleton, and Dr. Alvin Sharma, a critical care specialist at Geisinger Community Medical Center and Geisinger Wyoming Valley, both suggested one of the most heartwarming things about this is watching how medical teams have come together to serve the community.

Overall, the group effort and the camaraderie of the staff, I think thats the general theme, Lenko said. Everyone has really pulled together and taken on responsibilities that they didnt have 24 hours before.

Sharma agreed.

Even with the stress (of the virus), theres an incredible energy thats come out of this: teamwork, collaboration and working alongside each other, he said.

Lenko said she has worked at numerous different levels of the response, being actively involved with the setting up of an outdoor testing site at her Hazleton hospital and working in the intensive care unit for much of last week.

From her point of view, she said there are a few reasons to hope for the best.

Were cautiously optimistic, she said. About a week and a half ago, we saw the peak of in-patient numbers, but weve seen a steady plateau.

This could indicate the beginning of a positive trend; while the amount of people hospitalized for COVID-19 complications has stayed steady at Lehigh Valley Hospital Hazleton, that number has not continued on the upward trajectory it was on.

Im hopeful we arent going to hit the catastrophic level we were fearful of, she said. Hopefully were starting to see stability.

Lenko did emphasize, though, that so far, it is only a slight trend in the positive direction.

That said, though, both Sharma and Lenko said there have been some remarkable successes in regards to critically-ill patients.

The main thing that we all should hear is that weve had successes, weve had patients survive and go home, weve had patients who were severely critically ill survive and go home, Sharma said.

Lenko said shes seen some remarkable successes in the ICU. She said that, so far, its been incredibly hard to get patients off ventilators once they have had to go on them. However, she said that, so far, around five patients have been able to have their breathing tubes removed, and one of them has even gone home.

She said she took care of one critically-ill patient for seven days, and when medical staff was finally able to remove his breathing tube, the patient thanked her profusely.

It brought tears to my eyes, Lenko said. Its a small little victory everyone takes great pride in those victories.

Both Lenko and Sharma made it clear that these victories, no matter how small, would not be possible without the tireless work of a whole team of individuals.

The nursing staff, the respiratory therapists, the emergency room physicians, the multiple-disciplinary teams have all worked together and truly stepped up to the challenge, Sharma said. This energy that has developed has allowed us to create innovative preparedness.

Sharma specifically wanted to thank the work of Stephanie Rarig and Chad Cope, both ICU nurse operations managers at the hospitals he worked at, and pulmonologist Dr. Paul Arkless.

Its tiring, but its a joy, Sharma said of the work he and the rest of the team are doing.

Perhaps the most positive news, though, isnt news at all. Its been reported all along that the majority of people who come down with COVID-19 are able to recover at home if they carefully monitor their symptoms, and so far, that remains true, Lenko said.

A majority of people will be recovering from home, she said. We are seeing lots of patients recover. Ive written three or four back-to-work notes this week.

Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan

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Medical professionals: some positive progression in the fight against COVID-19 - Wilkes Barre Times-Leader