TO: Ballad Health Leaders (Managers, Directors, AVP, VP, SVP, EVP)
FROM: Ballad Health Corporate Emergency Operations Center
DATE: April 13, 2020
TITLE: Daily COVID-19 briefing – April 13, 2020
ACTION: Please post and cascade to all team members. This is a review of the major activities that occurred today related to the COVID-19 response.
COVID-19 surge plan in Kingsport in line with preliminary recommendations to create a Women’s and Newborn Center of Excellence, from Local Visioning Committee
Building on preliminary recommendations from a Visioning Committee composed of local business, academic, physician and community leaders, and local practicing physicians, we have announced changes that will lead to a dedicated women’s and newborn facility, in Kingsport – the first of its kind in the region. The changes will help with near-term efforts to enhance capacity for responding to COVID-19 while also leading towards the establishment of a dedicated women’s and newborn hospital linked with regional high acuity children’s services. These changes will also lead to bolstering Holston Valley Medical Center’s (HVMC) role as a regional high acuity tertiary hospital and further the integration of the individual hospitals into one hospital with two campuses.
Ballad Health will provide women’s and newborn services in Kingsport at Indian Path Community Hospital (IPCH). Current HVMC patients needing OB/Gyn care, including labor and delivery services, will now receive their care at IPCH.
Any other children’s services appropriately offered in a community setting will also be offered at IPCH and will remain part of the Niswonger Children’s Hospital network, providing seamless coordination with the region’s perinatal center and children’s hospital. And, in order to bolster the high acuity tertiary hospital services at HVMC, all Acuity-Adjusted Unit (ICU/PCU) and all other medical/surgical services at IPCH will be consolidated into corresponding services at HVMC.
Some immediate minor facilities and equipment adjustments will be made to prepare for the consolidation, and once the immediate threat of COVID-19 surge has passed, IPCH will embark on a phased renovation and cosmetic update plan to create an ideal care environment for women and newborns.
To learn more about these plans, click here or check out the Facebook Live video here.
Stay-at-home orders
As Tennesseans continue to grapple with COVID-19, today Gov. Bill Lee extended his stay-at-home order, mandating non-essential businesses remain closed until April 30. If Tennessee abandons social distancing too early, the outbreak will surge again, so it’s very important that we continue to support physician distancing and proper hand-hygiene with our friends and neighbors.
Virginia stay-at-home orders remain in place with an anticipated expiration of June 10.
COVID-19 fraud and scams
We urge our team to remain vigilant regarding potential scams and frauds related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since March 18, there have been 56 coronavirus-related scams reported by Tennessee and Virginia residents, according to the Better Business Bureau’s ScamTracker.
Here are some of the scams to look out for:
- Charity scams: Scammers are soliciting donations in a deceptive manner or using the money collected for purposes not intended by the donors. Some of the warning signs include organizations requesting you to send funds to a foreign bank; people contacting you online claiming to be a victim; and someone trying to rush you into donating.
- Online shopping/counterfeit goods: There are reports of scammers selling goods of inferior quality, such as vaccines, test kids, medications, face masks and sanitizers, that are often dangerous to people’s health. Currently, there is no vaccine for COVID-19, and if it was available, it would not be sold online. Legitimate COVID-19 test kids and medications are also not available. Team members should keep an eye out for in-demand products that are priced much higher than normal.
- Social media/misinformation: Cyber criminals have been disseminating information through technology and social media to capitalize on panic or place burden on systems or resources. Look out for individuals sharing COVID-19 remedies or reporting impending military or government action.
- Economic relief scams: With the recently passed federal stimulus bill, scammers are targeting vulnerable individuals and small business owners to obtain person information to claim their money. Be wary of anyone telling you to “sign-up” for your relief check through them, someone claiming to have early access to your money and callers requesting sensitive information to expedite financial relief.
- Phishing/smishing scams: These scams involve someone disguising their self as a trustworthy entity to obtain sensitive information through electronic communication, such as text, telephone or email. Warning signs include any electronic communication asking you to click on a link or share personal information.
- Robocalls: These are calls from cybercriminals pretending to be government organizations, family members in distress, banks/credit card companies. Warning signs include calls from unknown phone numbers; someone posing as a relative or friend asking for money; callers claiming you must pay a fine or debt.
Childcare survey
If you have children under age 18, please take a few moments to answer the three questions concerning potential childcare needs. Efforts are underway through community partnerships including our local United Way of Southwest Virginia, school systems, and local child care providers. This information will help with contingency plans. All answers will be confidential, and no individual responses will be collected or shared.
Planning for all potential advances of COVID-19 in the region, there is work underway to anticipate what childcare needs might be if current arrangements are no longer possible, networks become fatigued, or if the spread hits those being depended upon for child care. Many of our healthcare workers are relying on grandparents, older family members, and/or those in a higher risk category and a wider spread could negatively impact those caregivers.
Click here to take the childcare survey.
Additional points to note
- As of today, the following Ballad Health Medical Associates Urgent Care Centers are temporarily closed: Bristol Exit 7, Bristol Volunteer Parkway, Elizabethton, Gray, Jonesborough and Marion.
- Corporate Subway is extending appreciation to healthcare providers across our region by providing a pre-wrapped 6” cold cut sub sandwich to working team members. See the bottom of this message for a list of facilities, date and time for team members to pick up a free sub sandwich. Subs are limited and available during specific serving hours from facility food service department. Our great thanks to Subway for this very generous donation!
- If a team member or community member is awaiting results for COVID-19 testing, and more than four calendar days have passed, they may call 423-408-7600 to get their results.
- If you are a team member who might have had an exposure to a positive COVID-19 case, or if you believe you have symptoms of COVID-19, please call 423-408-7600. This Team Member Fast Track line is staffed by registered nurses 24/7.
- The next livestream media update will be Tuesday, April 14, at 11:30 a.m. You can watch online at Ballad Health’s Facebook page. A link will also be available tomorrow evening.
Total positive COVID-19 case count by county:
- Tennessee – 5,610 total; 152 in Appalachian Highlands (per health department data)
- Carter – 3
- Cocke – 5
- Greene – 27
- Hamblen – 6
- Hawkins – 24
- Johnson – 2
- Sullivan – 42
- Unicoi – 1
- Washington – 42
- Virginia – 5,747 total; 68 in Appalachian Highlands (per health department data)
- Buchanan – 2
- City of Bristol – 1
- Lee – 3
- Russell – 1
- Scott – 3
- Smyth – 11
- Tazewell – 4
- Washington – 28
- Wise – 8
- Wythe – 7
Thank you to Subway and thank you team members for honoring those we serve by delivering the best possible care!
NOTE: All sandwiches available for pickup from 11:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the date listed. All pickups are in the facility food service area unless otherwise noted.
- Bristol Regional Medical Center – April 14
- Holston Valley Medical Center – April 15
- Greeneville Comm. Hospital East – April 16
- Greeneville Comm. Hospital West – April 16
- Franklin Woods Comm. Hospital – April 16
- Johnston Memorial Hospital – April 16
- Russell County Hospital – April 16
- Sycamore Shoals Hospital – April 17
- Unicoi County Hospital – April 17
- Laughlin Healthcare – April 17
- Indian Path Comm. Hospital – April 17
- SCCH & Francis Marion Manor – April 17
- Dickenson Community Hospital – April 20
- Hancock County Hospital – April 20
- Johnson Co. Comm. Hospital – April 20
- Johnson City Medical Center – April 20
- Hawkins Co. Memorial Hospital – April 21
- Lonesome Pine Hospital – April 21
- Madison House – April 21
- Woodridge Hospital – April 21
- Wexford House – April 22
- Mtn. View Regional Hospital – April 23
- Norton Community Hospital – April 23
- SW Va. Cancer Center – April 23 (Admin area)
