Coronavirus Update and Health System Preparations - 4/8

Testing and Confirmed Cases
To protect patient privacy, we have established a minimum threshold of five for reporting numbers of inpatients with laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19.

DCH internal counts as of noon on 4/8/20:

• 10 inpatients are being treated for COVID-19.

• Five or fewer inpatients who are positive for COVID-19 are being treated in the ICU.

• Five or fewer inpatients who are positive for COVID-19 are on ventilators.

• 92 (cumulative) have tested positive for COVID-19 including individuals from the ED, triage tent and inpatient. These individuals are not necessarily in the hospital.

• 2,119 (cumulative) have tested negative at DCH sites.

Screening Weekend Hours
DCH’s remote screening site just west of its Regional Medical Center will be open this Saturday from 8:30 a.m. – Noon. The screening site will be closed on Sunday in observance of Easter.

Continued Community Support
Thanks to Keith Hudson at Alabama Central Glass who built intubation boxes and delivered them last week to the Anesthesia Department (see the photo where staff members demonstrate how the box is used). DCH certified registered nurse anesthetists sent him plans the week of March 22, and he delivered quickly!

CRNAs at Northport Medical Center contacted Hudson, and he graciously donated materials and labor for four boxes. Two of the boxes are at DCH Regional Medical Center and two are at NMC where they are already in use.

We greatly appreciate Alabama Central Glass and other community businesses helping us during this difficult time!

Helping Patients Communicate with Their Families
Reducing patient and family anxiety during hospitalization is always an important part of healing. But this effort has become a challenge with the current visitor restrictions at DCH. Thanks to help from DCH’s Information Technology Department, a limited number of Apple iPads are now being used in patient care areas to help facilitate patient and family communication.