Jefferson County Public Health, Jefferson Healthcare and several other municipalities and community organizations have been working on a plan aimed at keeping our community informed, safe and well during the COVID-19 crisis. Our planning work has three main components: monitor, test and communicate; work with our community to flatten the infection growth curve; and plan for a dramatic surge in clinic, emergency room and hospital utilization.
Jefferson Healthcare stood up our Incident Command Center on February 4th. We have been closely monitoring the regional and local situations and, in collaboration with the Public Health Department, communicating with the public at every opportunity. This has been challenging due to changing standards from regulatory agencies and conflicting rhetoric from Washington, D.C. However, we’ve stayed on top of key developments, maintained daily communication and done our best to communicate with the communities we serve. Our Incident Command Center meets daily, is fully operational and gives providers and hospital/community leaders the time and space for real-time status reports and to problem-solve and plan for contingencies.
We have inventoried all personal protection equipment (masks, gowns, etc.) and, based on WHO/CDC/Public Health Department, have developed protocols to ensure staff is protected and safe while they care for patients. At this time, we have an adequate amount of PPE. However, if the coronavirus continues to spread, we will no doubt face a shortage of masks, gowns and other supplies crucial to keeping staff safe and treating patients effectively, and we are planning contingencies for this.
We have dramatically increased our ability to test, and sent more than 400 COVID-19 tests to regional laboratories. Testing supplies continue to be closely monitored, and the Public Health Department develops standards for testing. Our ability to test appropriate patients helps determine the extent of community transmission; therefore, we plan to keep testing as long as necessary. Community transmission points to the rapid growth of local disease, and drastic increases in the need for care and services from our clinics, emergency department, ancillary services and hospital.
Our most important work is to prepare our delivery system for a possible surge of patients. To do so, multiple teams from across the organization, led by our physicians, have been working day and night to consider possible scenarios and develop plans for addressing them. We have revised treatment policy and protocols, trained staff and implemented several new services and interventions to keep residents informed, safe and well. We implemented a COVID-19 Nurse Consult Line at 360-344-3094 — now available seven days a week — to answer questions and schedule appointments in the COVID-19/ Respiratory Illness Evaluation Station.
Last week, we opened an appointment-only drive-thru testing station at the hospital to increase access to testing without exposing potentially symptomatic patients to patients who might have compromised immune systems. We also made the difficult decision to postpone all support groups and wellness services and restrict access to the hospital and clinics for all discretionary purposes, such as using the cafeteria. We have eliminated all elective surgery cases and procedures and are transitioning most non-urgent clinic visits to either telephone or virtual visits where possible.
To keep staff and patients safe, we have developed care and testing protocols for possible COVID-19 patients presenting to our campuses, and we are screening all staff and visitors before entrance to the hospital. Patients can bring one guest along to help with logistics and support, but we are restricting other visitors to make sure our limited supply of masks and other personal protective equipment remains available for our staff and existing patients. Exceptions will be made for extraordinary circumstances, and we expect our community members to understand and comply with this temporary restriction to keep our most vulnerable residents safe and well.
To keep you informed, we are updating daily our COVID-19 web page at https://jeffersonhealthcare.org/covid-19/ and posting informative video content to our Facebook page. On Wednesday, March 25th, from 3:30 to 5 p.m., we are hosting a COVID-19 expert panel -featuring Drs. Tom Locke, Tracie Harris, Joe Mattern and Steve Butterfield to provide an update on our work and respond to text questions. The discussion will be posted on our COVID-19 site, and viewers can ask questions through chat on facebook live from the Jefferson Healthcare profile.
These are unprecedented times, and it is crucial we pull together as a community to take care of each other. And this begins with personal hygiene, staying home and following social distancing guidelines.
Jefferson Healthcare has a plan in place and a team of dedicated staff and providers fully committed to doing whatever it takes to get our community through this.
(Mike Glenn is the CEO of Jefferson Healthcare hospital based in Port Townsend.)
