Media Statement for Coronavirus (COVID-19) Preparedness

The safety of our visitors, patients, employees, and physicians remains our highest priority. We want to assure the community that St. Joseph Health is closely monitoring all developments with COVID-19 and we are prepared to identify, isolate, and treat any potential patient who seeks care at our facility. We are in contact with local and state health officials as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and our staff is following the latest guidance from these public health agencies. FACILITY has the supplies and equipment needed to effectively manage the care of any suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients and we are continuously assessing the volume of supplies at our hospital. We also continue to update the way we identify patients who may have COVID-19 as changes are made to the case definition. We have a screening tool and algorithms as part of our electronic health record system that help clinicians evaluate patients who may have the virus, and we are asking those visiting our facilities if they are experiencing any symptoms consistent with infectious diseases, including COVID-19. Additionally, communication with our employees and physicians is of the utmost importance and we have implemented added trainings for our employees and regularly conduct exercises for clinicians and staff on the correct procedures for using personal protection equipment while treating patients who may have COVID-19. We will continue to adjust our approach to make sure we are as prepared as possible to treat cases in our community. Date posted: 3-10-2020