Grundy Reporter

Morris Hospital & Heathcare Centers have implemented measures to help patients and staff stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s amazing when we look back on all that our team has accomplished in just five weeks,” President and CEO Mark Steadham told the Morris Herald-News. 

One way the hospital system is helping keep staff and patients safe is by having employees self-monitor for the coronavirus and wear masks while working. Patients are also required to be screened before entering the hospitals. 

The hospital has even converted a medical and surgery nursing unit into a coronavirus patient unit, according to the Herald-News. 

Steadham said the hospital has tested several individuals for the virus, but most have tested negative. 

“While we’ve had some very sick patients with respiratory illness and pneumonia over the past few weeks, the majority have tested negative for COVID-19,” Steadham said. “One of the biggest challenges we’ve had is waiting for the test results to come back, which can take between one to three days. During that time, we have to assume the patient is positive and take all of the necessary precautions. That’s a long time to wait for test results.”

The hospital is also encouraging anyone with mild respiratory symptoms to stay home and contact their primary health provider before doing anything else, Steadham told the Herald-News. 

“From the start, the Centers for Disease Control and Illinois Department of Public Health have advised those with mild respiratory symptoms to stay home and contact their provider,” Steadham said. “We’re proud of our team for quickly putting telemedicine video appointments in place so we have an option for those seeking care for mild respiratory symptoms.”

Many health care providers are also seeing patients through a virtual video appointment. 

“While it’s important that we continue to follow the stay-at-home order and physical distancing, many of our providers are concerned that their patients may not be getting the attention they need for other medical conditions,” Steadham said. “Between all of the safety precautions we’ve put in place, along with reducing traffic in our provider offices by seeing as many patients as we can through video visits, we believe we’ve created a safe environment in all of our facilities so that we can continue to provide care for those who have medical needs that shouldn’t be put on hold.”

He also said community support has been appreciated throughout the coronavirus pandemic. 

“Since the start, our team has worked very hard to assure that we are always a few steps ahead,” Steadham told the Herald-News. “As a health care community, hospitals are starting to plan for how we can gradually start to resume elective surgeries, procedures and other services that have been put on hold in the coming weeks.”