5/29/20 CEO Update: COVID-19

We are settling in to a new routine at St. John’s Health, one that offers the full breadth of services and quality care you have come to expect from us. After implementing a long list of new safety protocols and making great progress to ensure we have adequate supplies, I feel very confident we are as prepared as possible for Jackson Hole’s busier summer season. In addition to other elective procedures we previously brought back online, we are now scheduling essential cancer screenings such as colonoscopies and mammograms. As I make daily rounds at the hospital and clinics, I am privileged to witness a professionalism and commitment to our community that makes me exceptionally proud.

• What's new this week:
• This week, no patients were admitted to our hospital units for COVID-19. Additionally, we have tested approximately 1/4 of our regular staff and so far haven’t identified any active disease COVID-19 cases among our asymptomatic employees. We will continue to do random active disease testing of staff with no COVID-19 symptoms and begin antibody testing of front-line staff to keep on top of the prevalence of this disease in our healthcare workers and first responders. Now that we are able to access more active disease PCR tests and are reassured that St. John’s antibody platform can produce accurate results, we are able to begin planning to do more testing for the community.
• Our remarkable Living Center, which is home to many Teton County seniors, continues to provide exceptional care in a safe environment. In a national survey visit this week to assess our nursing home infection control measures, our staff and facilities greatly impressed the surveyors, who found no deficiencies.

I am both encouraged and discouraged on the topic of masks. I am encouraged because the data I have reviewed demonstrates that masks, if worn by at least 80% of us, can reduce spread of disease to a degree comparable to herd immunity. I am discouraged, however, when I see our community polarize around this issue. At St. John’s, we have been taking care of COVID-19 patients for many weeks now and have not seen contagion because we are committed to wearing masks, including cloth masks for all visitors and lower risk staff. Masks make a difference. Please be kind to each other and wear a mask.

Paul Beaupre, MD, CEO

St. John’s Health

For more information on Coronavirus from St. John's Health, visit our dedicated COVID-19 webpage and subscribe below.

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Media contact:

Karen Connelly, Chief Communications Officer, kconnelly@stjohns.health, 307.739.7380