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VOLUME 38 • NUMBER 18 • MARCH 26, 2020
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TheVillagerNewspaper
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COVID-19 update: Local hospitals have the supplies they need so far
BY FREDA MIKLIN GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER
According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment as of 4:00 p.m. on March 23, the Colorado Case Summary for COVID-19 is: • 6,224 people tested • 720 cases, including 58 in Arapahoe County and 48 in Douglas County, and 148 in Denver. • 72 hospitalized • 31 counties • 7 deaths • 5 outbreaks at residential and non-hospital health care facilities The largest percentage of cases is spread across the 30 to 59-yearold age group, with 53 percent of the total. Coloradans 60 years old and older comprise only 29 percent of the 591 people who have tested positive. However,
all seven deaths from the disease, emanating from Eagle, El Paso, Weld, and Crowley Counties, have been of Coloradans over 60 years of age. Although it has been reported nationally that men are much more likely to get the virus, in Colorado, the cases are split very closely at 49 percent women and 51 percent men. No one can know with any certainty when Coloradans’ lives will begin to return to normal until the number of new cases of COVID-19 starts to level off locally and nationally. The Villager reached out to Stephanie Sullivan, assistant vice-president, media relations and video content for Health ONE-Denver, CO, which operates Sky Ridge Medical Center at 10101 RidgeGate Pkwy in Lone Tree and Swedish Medical Center at 501 East Hampden Avenue in Englewood to find out
how our local hospitals’ supplies to care for COVIDl-19 and other patients are holding up. She said, “HealthONE’s emergency planning efforts started months ago and our priority is to protect our frontline clinicians and caregivers so they are able to continue to care for our patients and our community. While we have the supplies and equipment we need at this time, we are doing everything possible to secure products, as the worldwide shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) including masks, face shields, and gowns is a reality that we are addressing with realistic, workable solutions. To help ensure our caregivers and patients continue to have enough supplies and equipment, we are implementing steps recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to conserve PPE. All HealthONE hospitals have an assigned clinician that is
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solely responsible for overseeing PPE inventory and stewardship. We are adopting specific protocols, outlined by the CDC, for the appropriate reuse of certain PPE and we are asking our colleagues to conserve these items by following, but not exceeding, the guidelines for infection prevention. Additionally, we are allowing for the use of both N95 masks as well as standard facemasks. Since COVID-19 is spread by droplets, in most instances standard face masks offer adequate protection. These decisions are based on known evidence and guidance from the CDC, and are being implemented to protect our colleagues and our patients. We continue to plan by accessing the resources, support and best practices across HealthONE to help ensure we remain able to meet the needs of the communities we serve as the situation continues to evolve.”
Photo courtesy of HealthOne
We also contacted Centura Health Systems’ Wendy Forbes, director of media relations and public relations for Colorado, who told us that, “each facility is preplanning in order to build surge capacity, cohort patients, and preserve supplies. Presently we are well prepared to meet the needs of each of our four communities, including Littleton (Littleton Adventist Hospital at 7700 S. Broadway in Littleton) and Porter (Porter Adventist Hospital at 2525 S. Downing Street in Denver). As a health system we meet daily through our Enterprise-wide Incident Command structure…to discuss operational flow, supply needs, and options to address the growing needs of our community.” The Villager will continue to monitor the situation. Fmiklin.villager@gmail.com
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