Greetings to all!
Welcome to the June issue of our newsletter. Thank you for following us and for taking the time to read it. We appreciate it and hope that you and your family are healthy and safe during these uncertain times.
This edition comes at an important time, as we have just entered the second phase of the Texas’ plan to safely open Texas while minimizing the spread of COVID-19.
Since May 18, some restrictions have been eased and more services and activities have been opened throughout our State, which has led to more people out on the streets. Emergency Hospital Systems remains vigilant and attentive to any possible increase in cases of COVID-19 throughout the County. We are confident that this won’t happen, as communities will continue to use safe practices and maintain social distance. However, if there is a spike in COVID-19 cases, we are prepared to deal with it in the same way that we have been doing it, in an effectively, safely, and timely manner.
As authorities have stated, the focus in this second phase of reopening is to keep Texas safe while restoring the ability to return to work and to open more businesses. As we progress through Phase 2, it is essential to continue increasing the testing of COVID-19. Only if we are able to detect and respond to possible outbreaks in a timely manner during this time, we will be able to move to the next phase, which will allow to safely open Texas.
In line with this goal, at Emergency Hospital Systems, we have been putting a lot of effort and resources to improve and expand our COVID-19 testing capabilities in all the communities we serve. Our goal is to reach more cities and more people so that communities are safe from the virus.
In May we entered into an agreement with Polk County to provide free COVID-19 testing to first responders in Onalaska, Texas. As you might know, Onalaska was recently hit by a tornado that killed several people and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses.
We also conducted free COVID-19 testing for first responders and health care workers in Livingston and we established a partnership with The Sanctuary Church of Cleveland to conduct COVID-19 testing for all members of the community including those asymptomatic cases.
We are satisfied with the results obtained from the testing we conducted, as they are in line with the rest of the State.
Additionally, we continue to take all appropriate precautions to reduce the risk of COVID-19 at our facilities and to ensure that they constitute a safe environment for our patients, staff, and the community at large. Some of the measures we have continued to adopt include the restriction of visitors to our facilities. Only patients, authorized visitors and our staff are authorized to enter. We also have limited entry points at our facilities, where our staff passes a screening process that includes answering a questionnaire and checking their body temperature.
Our clinics continue to serve patients through telehealth mainly through phone calls. In this way, our patients have continued to receive the medical attention they needed while maintaining the recommended social distancing measures.
Thanks again for your interest and for taking the time to read our newsletter. We hope you enjoy it and that you find the information useful.