An Announcement To Our Communities From Your Healthcare Leaders

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

As our region begins to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic, we encourage businesses
and community members to continue to follow governmental requirements and CDC guidelines to keep their employees and our residents safe from exposure to the virus.

Our leaders and medical staffs continue to monitor the situation and partner with local government and public health offices in the effort to slow the transmission of the virus.

While our emergency departments, primary and specialty care, urgent care, and emergency
surgery services remain in operation, you will begin to see other services, such as elective
procedures, gradually return over the next couple of weeks. Rest assured, we are still taking
every precaution to reduce transmission of the virus within our hospitals and offices to mitigate the spread of the virus through the communities we serve.

Our facilities remain safe as our employees are also following the CDC guidelines for healthcare workers and patients. You may notice certain restrictions, such as screening at entrances, limited visitation policies, and the use of personal protective equipment, are still in place at our facilities and offices.

We encourage individuals to seek medical care in the event there is a medical emergency
or if medical treatment is needed. We also have alternative options like telehealth for qualified appointments. Please don’t hesitate to contact our facilities if you have any questions about your appointments or medical care.

Our advice to the community remains the same during the pandemic. Those who exhibit mild symptoms of COVID-19 should self-quarantine at home and maintain distance from family members who are not experiencing symptoms. Continue these precautions until 72 hours after symptoms have resolved (typically 10-14 days). If you have a fever of 100.4 or above OR respiratory symptoms, call your healthcare provider. If you do not have a healthcare provider, call the closest urgent care center. Please call ahead to the facility so care teams can ensure the safety of their providers, other patients, and you. If you have a medical emergency and need to call 911, notify the dispatcher that you have a respiratory illness. If possible, put on a face mask before help arrives.

We want to extend our sincerest appreciation to our staffs who continue to provide medical
care to our patients, as well as to first responders and law enforcement serving on the frontlines, and area residents doing their part to prevent the spread of the virus. We also want to thank the hundreds of businesses, organizations, groups and individuals who donated supplies, meals, time, and monetary contributions to support our operations and healthcare heroes. We are extremely grateful for these many gifts and could not do the work we are doing now without the generous assistance of our community.

For the latest information about our policies and scheduling information for surgeries or procedures, visit the sites below:

www.chattmd.org

www.erlanger.org/coronavirus

www.memorial.org/coronavirus

www.parkridgehealth.com/covid-19

For information about COVID-19 testing in your region, please call these numbers:

Alabama Public Health – 888-264-2256

Georgia Department of Public Health – 844-442-2681

Hamilton County Health Department – 423-209-8383

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services – 866-462-3821

Tennessee Department of Health – 877-857-2945

Janelle Reilly