July 07, 2020
I hope you and your family had a fun and SAFE 4th of July holiday weekend! And speaking of safe – as we kick off the first full week of Fiscal Year 2021, I want to devote this Update to the important role each of us can play in keeping our community as safe as humanly possible from the needless spread of COVID-19. With summer here, following a long and intense period of stay-at-home and shutdown mandates, it’s understandable that all of us want to regain a sense of freedom and independence from the COVID-19 stresses and restrictions. Unfortunately, it is now clear that the virus is not going away, nor is it bending to our will. In fact, we’re seeing just the opposite across the U.S. and here locally, as some members of our community choose to ignore recommendations to use masks and other mitigation measures. The New York Times and Johns Hopkins University reported just last week that most major countries throughout the world are seeing a decline in cases, with just isolated spikes of new cases. In contrast, the U.S. has reported the highest number of cases since the start of this pandemic. This chart tells this troubling story, showing the number of new cases over the past week, adjusted for population size…. we are going the wrong way!!!
Since the start of the pandemic, fewer than 1.5% of TriHealth’s more than 12,000 team members have tested positive for COVID-19. And we know now based on contact tracing, the vast majority of these cases resulted from exposure and transmission occurring outside the work environment. The few documented cases of transmission from within TriHealth each resulted from clear breaks in PPE protocol. So it’s clear that PPE and the mitigation measures required at TriHealth WORK. And if we’ve learned anything over the past four months, it’s that we can dramatically slow down the transmission of COVID-19 within our patient, team member, and home communities by ALWAYS using PPE and properly wearing masks – at work and in the community. We have also learned that it is the single most important thing all of us can do to stabilize our economic and public health – and avoid another round of shutdowns and stay-at-home measures – during this next prolonged phase of “co-existence” with the virus, which may last months or even years as we wait for a vaccine.
As the region’s leading healthcare organization working to Get Healthcare Right, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to be a role model in our community by always adhering to these simple, common-sense safety practices – wear masks in clinical and public settings, socially distance, and practice proper hand hygiene. It is a small, but vitally important price to pay to maintain our collective hard-fought gains over the past four months to flatten the curve of cases, keep our community safe, and enable our society and economy to stay open! To help our team remember to wear our masks at all times, the SOAR Council has developed four new ALWAYS Behaviors and a Mask Guideline graphic – click here to review. And if you’d like to proudly demonstrate your commitment to Do No Harm in the community, click here to order up to four, free TriHealth-branded face masks for you and your family!
Thank you for all you have done, and continue to do, to help us get healthcare right during this extraordinary time of “co-existence” with COVID-19. So please, let’s stay the course TOGETHER – and continue to build on our collaborative efforts to keep our system strong – and our community and each other safe and healthy through the challenging and uncertain times ahead! As a reminder, we are transitioning to MONTHLY Team Member/Physician Town Halls and we will host the next one later in July. Monthly dates for Town Halls will be confirmed soon – look for more information on Bridge.
TriHealth, Cincinnati Children’s Launch Expansion of Fetal Care Center
TriHealth and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital are announcing the expansion of the special delivery unit at the Cincinnati Children’s Fetal Care Center. The expansion includes two new operating rooms and six rooms dedicated for labor, delivery, triage and postpartum recovery. This collaboration provides comprehensive care for healthy moms expecting a baby with known medical conditions that require specialized NICU and CICU care. Learn more on Bridge.
COVID-19 Self-Screening Mandatory E-Learn, Due July 10
Beginning Monday, July 13, TriHealth will transition from COVID-19 screening stations at all locations to self-screening for all team members and physicians. Patients and visitors will continue to be screened at stations during visits. To ensure you are accurately self-screening, all team members and physicians must complete the mandatory online TriHealth Learn training, WBT20: COVID-19 Self-Assessment Screening, by Friday, July 10. Learn more on Bridge.
HARP Clinic Relocates
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the two HARP (High Risk Readmission Prevention) locations were merged into one location at the Bethesda Family Practice Center located at University Station in Norwood near Xavier University. Led by Dr. James Konerman and the Family Medicine Residents, the HARP program will continue to provide initial medical follow-up and help the patient establish a relationship with a PCP. Learn more on Bridge.
Returning to Work Safely
As patient volumes slowly return, and we implement the COVID-19 financial recovery plan, we can refocus on safely returning team members to work. Your leader will help you navigate when, where, and how you return to work. Visit Bridge for more information on patient-facing and non-patient-facing team members returning to work, working remotely, and staying healthy at work.
Get COVID Statistics and Updates on Bridge
As Dr. Joseph’s COVID-19 video updates transition to a weekly video series, it is understood that the COVID statistics for TriHealth and the region provided in the videos are of value to team members. Be sure to visit Bridge for statistical insights into COVID-19 every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And keep an eye on our COVID hub on Bridge for the latest policy updates and news.
How can we order masks? Sharon Gallagher
Posted by: Sharon Gallagher on September 09, 2020
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Good info for all keeping us informed and thanks for the masks.
Posted by: Theresa Goens on July 08, 2020
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Thanks for the Masks and always keeping us informed.
Posted by: Wendy Skates on July 08, 2020
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I APPRECIATE THE LEVEL OF COMMUNICATION AND THANK YOU FOR THE MASKS.
Posted by: Shauna Hastings on July 08, 2020
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THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO AND THANK YOU FOR THE MASKS!
Posted by: Team Member on July 08, 2020
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good information
Posted by: Helen Koehler on July 08, 2020
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