COVID-19 Update
Dear Colleagues:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) is a rapidly evolving situation; given that, we want to keep you, our UMMS employees and medical staff, as informed as possible. Beginning today, we will be sending you three updates weekly – on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays – to provide timely and relevant information regarding the UMMS approach to addressing our preparedness and response. We will continue doing this as long as necessary. We thank you in advance for your continued hard work and support of our patients, visitors and one another.
COVID-19 Update for UMMS Employees and Medical Staff – 3/2/2020
- Operational Updates
We are preparing for eventual cases in our region by doing many things, including hosting exercises/drills at each UMMS facility to walk through planning scenarios.
- We want to share information on the care pathways we are using for patients under investigation (PUI) for COVID-19, or even those that are positive for the virus. These guidelines are based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state partners.
- Home quarantine for at least 14 days is the foundational approach to treating the virus and mitigating its spread.
- When patients present to our facilities, they will be assessed and in some cases may be tested for the virus if they meet federal guidelines for testing. Depending on the patient’s symptoms, the most prudent course of action may be instructions to self-quarantine at home.
- As patients’ treatment plans change and our federal and state partners update guidelines, we will notify you as soon as possible.
- We have been informed by our primary vendors that many PPE items will be in short supply due to China manufacturing plants closing. At this time we ask that everyone participate in conservation efforts for all supply items at each of our facilities, and especially those involving PPE.
Important Communications Sent and Coming Soon
- UMMS President and CEO Dr. Mohan Suntha message sent Friday, February 28 on our UMMS COVID-19 preparations
- UMMS employee travel guidance policy, sent on Sunday, March 1. Please connect with the appropriate individuals in your organization with questions about travel.
- Guidance on any updates to our visitor policy should be coming later this week. As we work to finalize that policy and seek ways to reduce traffic into the hospitals, please be sure to wear your badge at all times and ensure any vendors working in your areas are doing the same.
- A System-wide UMMS COVID-19 Response Intranet site will launch this week. This will be the place to go for the latest news and updates.
Prevention is Key; Please Do Your Part
- We cannot stress enough the importance of practicing non-pharmaceutical interventions like performing vigilant hand hygiene, avoiding shaking hands and maintaining social distances. These strategies are fundamental to protecting our workforce, patients and the community.
Resources for More Information
Again, thank you for your flexibility, patience and cooperation as we work through a dynamic situation that quite literally changes from hour to hour. Rest assured that our System-wide incident commanders and chiefs and the local affiliate incident commanders are working in partnership to respond to any developments and we will continue to provide timely updates as the situation warrants.
The UMMS COVID-19 Incident Command Team