TO: Appalachian Highlands community and civic leaders
FROM: Ballad Health Corporate Emergency Operations Center
DATE: July 15, 2020
TITLE: Weekly COVID-19 briefing – July 15, 2020
ACTION: Please post and cascade to all team members. This is a review of the major activities that occurred this week related to the COVID-19 response.
COVID-19 inpatient cases: 60
COVID-19 patients in ICU: 14
COVID-19 patients on ventilators: 8
Ballad Health updates visitation policy
- Effective this Friday, July 17, at 11 a.m., patients will only be allowed a single, designated patient-support person – or visitor – for the duration of their visit or hospital stay.
- The visitor will only be allowed onsite from 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
- Visitors are still not allowed in our behavioral health or long-term care facilities.
- No changes have been made to the vitiation policy in NICU, rooms with pediatric patients, or labor and delivery, as well as those with rare, extenuating circumstances or in the case of end of life care.
Previously, we allowed one patient-support person at a time in our inpatient acute care areas, labor and delivery units, emergency rooms and surgical floors. While this policy limited the number of people in our facilities at a time, it did allow for an unlimited changing-out of visitors during a patient’s stay, and with the increase of local COVID-19 cases, more restrictive policies are now necessary.
Per our new policy, when a patient arrives at our facilities, they can select one family member or loved one to visit during their stay. The person they choose will be the only visitor allowed.
Our clinical leadership will address any exceptions to this policy directly with affected patients.
Designated visitors will still be required to wear a mask, and they will be screened for signs of illness before they enter our facilities.
Ballad Health encourages mayors to issues mask mandates; several now in effect
- Mask mandates are in place in the following counties in Tennessee: Carter, Greene, Sullivan and Washington.
- Mask mandates remain in place throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.
- Ballad Health continues requiring every team member, physician, vendor and most patients to wear masks at all times in Ballad Health facilities.
- Masks are part of Ballad Health’s professional appearance and uniform guidelines – there are no exceptions to this policy.
- Team members who do not comply with the mask requirement will face disciplinary action.
On Monday, July 13, Ballad Health issued an open letter to mayors of the Appalachian Highlands, imploring them to issue mask mandates in their jurisdictions.
Ballad Health made the decision to speak out because, while previous COVID-19 modeling showed a maximum inpatient census of 300 patients, we are now potentially growing at a far faster rate than anticipated, and there is no reason to think that will change in the next two-three weeks.
As we approach flu season, as well as the return of students to schools and universities, we run the very real risk of our health system becoming overwhelmed by COVID-19.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) repeatedly cites mask use as the single most effective prevention tool against COVID-19. And while Ballad Health, along with other medical and health experts, has been emphasizing the need for everyone to wear a mask when they’re in public, we fear that, without a mandate, the rate of compliance won’t be enough to control the spread of infection.
To date, Mayor Richard Venable of Sullivan County, Mayor Joe Grandy of Washington County, Tennessee, Mayor Kevin Morrison of Greene County and Mayor Rusty Barnett of Carter County have issued mask mandates.
These mandates are also working hand-in-hand with the previous executive order issued by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, which requires masks in all indoor establishments for everyone age 10 and older.
Ballad Health identifies COVID-19 cluster at Sycamore Shoals Hospital
- 29 total people were affected – 23 team members and six patients.
- Positive team members and the affected patients have been isolated, and positive team members are not permitted to work.
- Sycamore Shoals is placing any newly admitted patients in a closed unit. Team members whose COVID-19 tests were confirmed as negative are providing their care.
On July 8, Ballad Health identified a cluster of positive COVID-19 cases at Sycamore Shoals Hospital, specifically affecting our 12-bed gero-psych unit.
All of our Sycamore Shoals team members, as well as any potentially affected patients, have been tested. A total of 29 people – 23 team members and six patients – have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
We’re confident all potentially affected patients and visitors have been contacted. However, anyone experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should call Ballad Health Nurse Connect at 833-822-5523.
Be responsible when using PTO or traveling this summer
- In light of our PTO blackout scheduled from Oct. 1-23 for the Epic go-live, Ballad Health has not restricted the use of PTO by our team members during the summer months and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- If you do travel, wear a mask when in public and maintain 6 feet of physical distance between yourself and others in public places.
- If you choose to cancel a planned trip, there will be no reimbursement from Ballad Health for lost deposits.
- No other decisions about PTO, including adjusting the PTO bank deadline in January 2021, have been made.
We recognize many vacation locations across the United States are currently experiencing significant surges in positive COVID-19 cases, and many individuals in our region who are diagnosed with COVID-19 have recently vacationed in an area with high COVID-19 rates or come in contact with someone who has.
If you choose to travel outside of the Appalachian Highlands, please note:
- You should still wear a mask when in public, regardless of whether your destination is under a mandate.
- Maintain at least 6 feet of physical distance between yourself and others in public places.
- Consider takeout from restaurant as an alternative to going out.
- The CDC still recommends staying at home as much as possible and practicing physical distancing, especially if you have a pre-existing condition or are at higher risk of severe illness.
- COVID-19 in the United States and abroad is a rapidly-evolving situation. The status of the disease’s spread varies by location, and state and local authorities are updating their guidance frequently.
- If you travel, check with state and local authorities along your route, as well as at your destination, to learn about local circumstances and restrictions.
Watch today’s live-streamed press conference
We’re hosting Facebook LIVE videos every Wednesday at 11 a.m. for local media and our communities. This is your chance to hear updated communication and information about COVID-19.
Miss today’s video? You can watch it here.
Please note: Team members might need to access Facebook links from personal devices, due to Ballad Health network security settings.
Mission Moment: Dr. Daniel Lewis shares his COVID-19 story with the nation
With hundreds of COVID-19 cases in the Appalachian Highlands, the disease has inevitably reached several Ballad Health team members, and some of them have needed care in the very hospitals where they work and serve patients every day.
In mid-March, Dr. Daniel Lewis, co-chief medical officer of Ballad Health’s Greeneville Community Hospital campuses, contracted COVID-19 at a meeting. What followed was a months-long journey that included 10 days unconscious, on a ventilator, a lengthy rehabilitation stay, five weeks without seeing his family and long-lasting damage to his lungs.
While Dr. Lewis is now free of COVID-19, he’s still working reduced hours while recovering – and he’s sharing his story with local and national media:
- MSNBC: “TN Doctor Describes Recovering From Coronavirus, Urges People to Wear Masks”
- Nashville Tennessean (shared to USA Today): “This Tennessee doctor caught coronavirus at a meeting about coronavirus. He nearly died.”
- WJHL: “Greene Co. doctor, survivor of COVID-19 days wearing a mask is not ‘a detriment to your health at all’”
- Ballad Health’s YouTube: Dr. Daniel Lewis’ Victory Walk
We thank Dr. Lewis for letting us share his patient journey, so our communities and nation know the reality of fighting COVID-19 – and we’re grateful for his recovery!
Please note: Team members might need to access YouTube links from personal devices, due to Ballad Health network security settings.
Additional points to note
- Any team members who believe they have symptoms or have been exposed to COVID-19 should notify their supervisors and Team Member Health immediately, and then call 423-408-7600. DO NOT come into work until specifically cleared to do so.
- The next livestreamed media update will be Wednesday, July 22, at 11 a.m. You can watch live on Ballad Health’s Facebook page, and a link will be available that afternoon.
- Community members who would like to be tested for COVID-19 should call our Nurse Connect hotline at 833-822-5523.
- With increased use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in our hospitals, it’s imperative to be good stewards of our N95 respirators, in case we need to use reprocessed/sterilized masks. To be properly reprocessed, masks must be properly packaged, with team members’ names, departments and cycle numbers clearly labeled, in a sealed pouch. Additionally, the mask should not be soiled by makeup or other substances.
- COVID-19 updates, testing information and news continues to be posted to www.balladhealth.org/COVID19.
Total positive COVID-19 case count
COVID-19 case counts are provided by the states’ health departments. Data on recovered COVID-19 patients is not available for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Tennessee – 69,061
- July 14: 66,788
- July 13: 65,274
- July 12: 61,960
- July 11: 61,006
- July 10: 59,546
- July 9: 57,591
- July 8: 55,986
Virginia – 73,527
- July 14: 72,443
- July 13: 71,642
- July 12: 70,670
- July 11: 69,782
- July 10: 68,931
- July 9: 67,988
- July 8: 67,375
| Appalachian Highlands COVID-19 cases July 15 |
|||
| Tennessee | |||
| County | Total | New cases since July 8 | Recovered |
| Carter | 128 | 53 | 57 |
| Cocke | 175 | 105 | 91 |
| Greene | 173 | 51 | 92 |
| Hamblen | 551 | 154 | 308 |
| Hancock | 15 | 6 | 3 |
| Hawkins | 103 | 37 | 55 |
| Johnson | 48 | 4 | 37 |
| Sullivan | 290 | 131 | 160 |
| Unicoi | 61 | 5 | 53 |
| Washington | 321 | 124 | 152 |
| Tennessee totals | 1,865 | 670 | 1,008 |
| Virginia | |||
| Bland | 3 | 1 | |
| Buchanan | 48 | 12 | |
| City of Bristol | 14 | 7 | |
| Dickenson | 7 | 2 | |
| Grayson | 95 | 4 | |
| Lee | 26 | 11 | |
| City of Norton | 4 | – | |
| Russell | 26 | 11 | |
| Scott | 17 | 6 | |
| Smyth | 46 | 4 | |
| Tazewell | 34 | 11 | |
| Washington | 90 | 18 | |
| Wise | 48 | 15 | |
| Wythe | 62 | 5 | |
| Virginia totals | 520 | 107 | – |
| Appalachian Highlands totals | 2,385 | 777 | 1,008 |
| Ballad Health totals | |||
| Confirmed COVID-19 patients who are currently hospitalized | 52 | ||
| Patients currently receiving inpatient hospital care whose COVID-19 test results are pending | 8 | ||
