A two-part documentary series chronicles how 239-bed Doylestown (Pa.) Hospital confronted the pandemic and changed its operations to best battle COVID.
Produced by the Doylestown Health Foundation, partly for a fundraising initiative for the stand-alone hospital, the videos tell a story that is unique to Doylestown, while echoing the experiences of many other systems.
A patient featured in the first 30-minute installment of the series, “Leading Through a Crisis,” is Howard Brown, one of the first COVID patients treated at Doylestown. There for weeks, on and off a ventilator, Brown describes finally leaving. “I remember being wheeled down the hallway and the corridor was lined with doctors, nurses, technicians, administrative staff, and they were playing ‘Here Comes the Sun.’ There were tears in people’s eyes.”
In all 375 COVID inpatients have been treated there so far, with 70 dying; 128 staffers tested positive, with no deaths.
Several department heads featured in the videos credit Doylestown’s independence and smaller size for its agile response, which included ending elective surgeries before it became mandatory; imposing mask mandates ahead of federal recommendations; and adopting convalescent plasma treatments early.
