Virginia health association to phase out COVID hospitalization dashboard Thursday

The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association will halt publishing its daily counts of coronavirus-related hospitalizations across the state Thursday, citing the upcoming end of the COVID public health emergency and relatively low levels of hospitalizations.

“Overall, the dashboard has been viewed more than 7.7 million times and has been an invaluable resource to help health care providers, state and federal government partners, the public, and the news media gain a clearer picture of the impact of the pandemic on hospitals and the health care delivery system,” the group said in a news release issued Wednesday.

The dashboard used a daily protocol crafted by the organization’s Data Analytics and Emergency Preparedness teams, hospitals and health systems.

Hospitals and health systems across the commonwealth submit the hospitalization data though the Virginia Healthcare Alerting Status System portal, according to Julian Walker, the group’s vice president of communications. The portal is used to distribute emergency management information needed by Virginia health systems and providers, he said.

Walker said the VHHA and members health systems and hospitals will continue to work in tandem with the state for the benefit of public health — including data sharing. VDH had been notified about the sunset of the hospitalization dashboard, according Walker. The Virginia Healthcare Emergency Management Program, a joint initiative between the Virginia Department of Health and the VHHA, will still be able to request COVID hospitalization information if needed.

On Wednesday, there were 27 hospitalized patients in the Eastern region with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 and fewer than 11 COVID patients in the ICU and on ventilator support respectively, according to the dashboard.

Across the state, there were 147 hospitalized patients with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, 16 COVID patients in the ICU and fewer than 11 on ventilator support respectively, according to the dashboard.

Hospitalizations have been on almost complete weekly decline throughout the year. It hit a post-holiday seven-day rolling average peak of 1,108.4 in the second week of January and at 168.6 as of Wednesday. The most dire of hospitalizations have also declined on the whole since the beginning of the year.

Ian Munro, 757-447-4097, ian.munro@virginiamedia.com