The COVID-19 pandemic is a significant challenge for everyone in this country and around the world. Life for all of us will change for some unforeseeable time as the facts are fluid and the situation ever evolving. There are a few things I want to communicate to you and ensure you know we are thinking about this and working on it constantly.

• First the safety of our patients, team members and providers is our first and foremost priority, all decisions we make, all policies we establish, and all actions we take will be made with this in mind.
• No doubt there will be differing views on how best to address the issues before us, we expect that and are working as a team to establish the best plans possible. Not all will be popular, but the information at hand suggests certain actions are to be taken as soon as
• We realize there are many issues to be addressed for our team and are working on them as we speak.
  • This includes child care needs, what happens if I get quarantined, terms for PTO and pay etc. Know that we are working hard to find every opportunity to avoid any disruption. Ideas on child care are welcome, this will require a team approach that may even need to be decided on a site-by-site basis. We will be monitoring government support for companies and employees so we understand how that may enable certain decisions.

• Step-by-step process for patients entering your facility and directives on how to deal with the various scenarios we will face. Regional Vice Presidents and JOCs will be versed in these
• We know that moving all who can work remotely to remote status is important and we are executing on that
• We are regularly monitoring our supply chain and to date have no issues. We will of course advise whenever we know
• There are certain supplies associated with PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) that will be required to be onsite. It may in fact all be in place today, RVPs will be tasked with ensuring
• You will see a number of policies being rolled out in the next 24 hours, please know these have been thought through and are made commensurate with CDC
• FAQs: we realize times like the present have more questions than answers, we are putting forth an FAQ tomorrow to help provide further
• Information repository, our teams are establishing an information repository on our company wide server, this will be accessible by RVPs and others (TBD), RVPs will be your first resource for information and this repository will have all newly established policies on
• As you have seen, the government response to this pandemic is growing by the day, as such we will be monitoring it and using their resources as well during our communications with
• Lastly, we realize times like now cause angst and stress, our HR Department has and will continue to remind all about our EAP (Employee Assistance Program) and its availability to you. This said, supporting each other is how we work as a team now and is ever more important going forward. While it does need to be done smartly due to exposure risks, we all know we can think of ways to be there for each

 

• As a reminder, the CDC recommends everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses:
• • Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and/or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed
  • Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing. Discard tissue immediately into a closed
  • Avoid close contact with people who are
  • Stay home when you are
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and

 

We recognize that this is an unprecedented and unique situation, and we appreciate your flexibility and support. We will continue to keep a close pulse on what’s happening and provide updates. I have included a link below to an article that I believe is helpful to your understanding of the concept of “social distancing” and its importance. Covid-19 is here, its impact is up to all of us and how we decide to manage it.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/

 

Thank you for your efforts, let’s work as a team to tackle this issue together.

 

Bill Southwick | CEO