Penn Highlands DuBois creates a COVID-19 unit

Although cases have been low in this area so far, Penn Highlands Healthcare (PHH) has been preparing for the worst-case scenario. That includes creating a COVID-19 unit at Penn Highlands DuBois.

At yesterday’s teleconference, Dr. Shaun Sheehan, who heads the PHH COVID-19 task force, announced that the unit is ready and the staff has received additional training.

“Our COVID-19 unit contains the ability to change rooms to negative pressure which is an additional layer of protection recommended for certain situations,” he said. “A negative pressure room basically means…that the bad air is filtered and vented to the outside.”

Penn Highlands converted the fourth floor rooms for the unit.

Dr. Sheehan stated that all other Penn Highlands facilities are equipped with isolation rooms, but if a patient is critical, they will need a higher level of care available at locations like Penn Highlands DuBois.