Tuesday, ahead of the holidays, Conemaugh Health system honored those who’ve lost their lives to COVID-19.

Conemaugh Health personnel gathered today at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center, Conemaugh Meyersdale Medical Center, Conemaugh Miners Medical Center, and Conemaugh Nason Medical Center to honor local lives lost to COVID-19 throughout the health system.

Personnel say, in recent weeks, they’ve been writing the initials of patients and names of loved ones on luminaries which were seen glowing at each facility Tuesday night.

The luminaries are tributes to the local victims of COVID-19 who will be missing from holiday celebrations this year.

Officials say Cambria County has lost 553 lives to COVID-19, Somerset County has lost 271 lives, Bedford County has lost 187 lives, and Blair County has lost 421 lives.

“Each one of these 1,432 individuals was someone’s parent or grandparent, son or daughter, niece or nephew, friend, colleague, or neighbor, and we recognize that this loss and grief is unimaginable for our community, especially as we prepare to share in holiday traditions with our loved ones,” said Elizabeth Dunmore, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Conemaugh Health System. “Our frontline personnel comforted many of these patients and their families in their darkest moments and their resilience continues to be tested on a daily basis. Taking a moment to reflect on this unprecedented and ongoing tragedy is an important part of the grieving process for our teams.”

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