Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital has begun phasing in elective surgeries and
other procedures that have been on hold since the onset of the novel
coronavirus pandemic.
The hospital’s CEO, John Bishop, thanked the community for its efforts
to minimize the impacts of COVID-19 that allowed the hospital time to
prepare for the reopening of these vital services.
“We were fortunate that citizens took this seriously," Bishop
said. "That allowed us time to prepare. While we do anticipate there
will be future
COVID cases in the county, we wouldn’t be in this position without the
community’s help.”
Ravalli County has documented five
COVID-19 cases. Each person contracted the virus outside the county. All have recovered
from the illness. None required hospitalization.
Gov. Steve Bullock announced a phased-in approach to reopening the state
on April 22.
By then, Bishop said Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital had developed strategies
to return to doing elective surgeries, including adequate protective equipment
for staff and appropriate testing protocols.
“When these announcements came out, we were ready,” Bishop
said. “We are open to service the needs of Ravalli County. Over
the past few months, we have taken hundreds of measures to ensure the
safety of our staff and patients and continue to monitor our personal
protective equipment levels daily.
Read the entire article here →