“Please employ safety measures,” said Butler Health System CEO Ken DeFurio. “One option we don't have is to close when things get bad. We need to be open 365.”

DeFurio on Thursday guided a live virtual panel and discussion with community leaders and business owners regarding the recent surge of COVID-19.

“We are busier than we have ever been with COVID-19 patients,” DeFurio said.

Dr. John Love, BHS director of infectious disease, illustrated the need for more support from the community in mitigation efforts by reviewing the alarming data the system has been tracking.

Love cited, articulated and showed in graphics data collected from the Pennsylvania Department of Health from as early as the beginning of the pandemic to the most recent reports.

“What we're looking at today looks different and feels different,” he said.

Love first pointed at the recent spike in cases at the county level that saw 124 new confirmed cases reported last weekend with 62 on Saturday and 62 again Sunday. The county posted its largest ever single-day increase Nov. 2 with 66 new confirmed cases.

Love also showed how these new cases have affected incidence rates, which track the number of new cases per 100,000 residents of the county's population. Butler County's incidence rate has risen to 111.2, an increase from 82.5 from the week before and from a rate in the 20s last month.“This is not because there are significantly more tests being run,” Love said. “I'm not expecting this trend to significantly change a lot.”According to the Department of Health's report Thursday, Butler County added 53 new confirmed cases and one new death. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 2,002 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 and 40 residents have died from the virus.

Love also touched on the idea that the virus is not restricted by boundaries, a sentiment that has been reiterated many times by Gov. Tom Wolf throughout the pandemic.“There are lots of many special things about Butler County, but this problem is not one of them,” he said.Love also explained that the patients who are being hospitalized are not just those considered high-risk patients, which are generally the elderly or people who have underlying health conditions, such as high-blood pressure, diabetes or obesity.

He said there are people who are not elderly and who have no existing conditions who are in intensive care, hooked up to ventilators and who are even dying due to the virus, another statistic that has trended upward.Butler Health System has reported 13 COVID-19 deaths in the past few weeks. Love said he has even seen examples of the death of an older family member after being infected by a visiting younger family member.“It's been very hard. It's been hard on our staff emotionally, and it's been hard on our communities,” Love said. “This is what we're facing.”DeFurio said many of the worries about the flu season coinciding with the pandemic have arrived, and now the health system needs to be wary of their staff, which is an irreplaceable resource. His words echoed throughout the panel discussion.“If we start to have a problem with nursing staff, respiratory therapy staff and others, we start to have a really big problem taking care of these (COVID-19) patients,” DeFurio said. “We don't have a problem today, but as we watch these numbers and know that this could continue to escalate, we must keep our staff safe.”

The information served as a fresh look and local insight into a growing community concern. BHS had conducted a similar call in the spring.“It was nice to hear an update from the hospital,” said Jordan Grady, executive director for the Butler County Chamber of Commerce. “From that call in the spring sparked a lot of community support. I think today's call will be very similar.”Others like Susan Miller, assistant superintendent for Slippery Rock Area School District, and Jerry Andree, Cranberry Township manager, said the information sounded familiar because the health system regularly communicates with school districts and local municipalities.“This is becoming a countywide collaborative effort between local government, schools and businesses to really get the message out about mitigation practices,” Miller said.Andree said Cranberry Township has been involved with these conversations even before it adopted a COVID-19/Infectious Disease Response Plan in March.“This plan provides management direction for every activity involving the township,” Andree said.That direction includes strict requirements on many COVID-19 mitigation strategies that have been around since the beginning of the pandemic, when they were refuted by some and then proven effective by professionals and experts, such as wearing a mask and maintaining a separation of six feet from others.Miller said BHS has been instrumental in helping school districts, municipalities and businesses get their bearings on how to approach a return to everyday life, but safely.She said this is more apparent now as some school districts are having to close some or all of their buildings due to spread within the Butler County community.Slippery Rock students have learned remotely throughout the week and may continue to do so into next week, depending on data evaluation by the administration. But she said the trend as of late affects more than a student's education.“We know we're interrelated with our families,” Miller said. “If our kids can't come to school, that puts a burden on families. Families may not be able to work and it affects what they can do. That in turn affects the community and the economy.”Grady said the health system has done a lot for the community. It brings attention to the area through its renown and employs more than 3,000 people.He said now it's time to support the organization that has supported everyone else, and it can be done by staying healthy. He said he has already begun working with his network of businesses across the county and region.“We want to show them what practices are recommended and encourage participation,” Grady said. “The main goal is to do our best to keep everyone healthy to keep the workforce plenty and intact.”