Researchers at East Tennessee State University have invited Ballad Health team members to fill out a survey about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Your responses can help them understand more about COVID-19 testing, vaccination and related behaviors in our area. Those who take the survey may feel good knowing they have helped with research that could benefit others in the future. The survey will take about 15 minutes to complete. There are no known risks to participating in this study. The survey deadline is Friday, Dec. 3. Click here to take the survey. Thank you for your assistance in helping ETSU to learn more about COVID-19 in our region. If you have any questions about the study, please feel free to reach out to Sam Pettyjohn, DrPH, at pettyjohns@etsu.edu.

Have you been vaccinated? If so, we have a new “Ballad Health #vaccinated” mask for you! All team members who have been vaccinated for novel coronavirus (COVID-19) are eligible to receive the masks, which will be available at facility human resources offices. If you’re already vaccinated, drop by your local HR office to pick up your mask. Our campaign against COVID-19 is making progress, thanks to all the steps we’ve taken over the last year and a half – but the surest way to beat the virus is to get as many people vaccinated as possible. We encourage you to get the vaccine if you haven’t already, and to encourage others to do so, as well. For more information on how to receive your vaccination, visit our COVID-19 site on balladhealth.org, where you can set up an appointment at the community vaccination center at The Mall at Johnson City through July 31. Vaccinations are also…

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a new rule on June 21 outlining steps that employers must take to protect workers from the risk of COVID-19. The new Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) applies to the healthcare industry, which has been hit hardest by the pandemic. For the first time in its history, OSHA is facing a new hazard that has taken the lives of nearly 600,000 people in the United States and infected millions more in just over a year. The purpose of the new rule is to keep healthcare workers safe from COVID-19, so they can continue providing critical care while slowing the spread of the disease. To meet the federal mandate, Ballad Health is taking several steps that must be implemented by Tuesday, July 6. It’s important that you carefully review these guidelines and complete the necessary training to ensure compliance across the system. Training requirements Required team member training on…

Would you tell us, in a short video made on your phone, about how COVID-19 is affecting you, and what you’d like to tell people about the virus? Ballad Health is interested in hearing and sharing your message. Team members are working extremely hard and making sacrifices every day. We want to know how COVID-19 is affecting you mentally, emotionally and physically. What would you want the public to know and do to prevent more COVID-19 cases? Do you have a story you can tell to demonstrate the stress you’re under? How can the public react and help? We’d like to see your videos and possibly share them on Ballad Health social media or through other venues. The video doesn’t need to be long and it doesn’t need to be perfect. In fact, messages that are raw and authentic are more effective in showing the exhaustion, emotion and true feelings that result from working during…

Would you tell us, in a short video made on your phone, about how COVID-19 is affecting you, and what you’d like to tell people about the virus? Ballad Health is interested in hearing your message. Team members are working extremely hard and making sacrifices every day. We want to know how COVID-19 is affecting you mentally, emotionally and physically. What would you want the public to know and do to prevent more COVID-19 cases? Do you have a story you can tell to demonstrate the stress you’re under? How can the public react and help? We’d like to see your videos and possibly share them on Ballad Health social media. The video doesn’t need to be long and it doesn’t need to be perfect. In fact, messages that are raw and authentic are more effective in showing the exhaustion, emotion and true feelings that result from working during a pandemic. We recommend you capture…

We recently began the #maskedmile challenge to honor our healthcare workers who have to wear a mask all day at work, every day, for the safety of our patients, visitors and team members. This Ballad Health social media campaign is loosely based on the idea of walking a mile in someone else’s shoes to see what their experience is like, except we’re challenging people to wear a mask for a mile – or for some length of walking, running or other exercise. So far we’ve had more than a dozen leaders across Ballad Health take up the challenge with posts to Ballad Health’s Facebook page. There are more to come, and everyone out there, including the general public, is encouraged to get active and take up this challenge in honor of our hardworking team members who mask up every day. If they can do it all day long, we can do it for at least…

TO: Ballad Health Leaders (Managers, Directors, AVP, VP, SVP, EVP) FROM: Ballad Health Corporate Emergency Operations Center DATE: July 22, 2020 TITLE: Weekly COVID-19 briefing – July 22, 2020 ACTION: Please cascade to all team members. This is a review of the major activities that occurred this week related to the COVID-19 response. We have added bullet points with key takeaways at the top of each section to help summarize the content.   COVID-19 inpatient cases: 70 COVID-19 patients in ICU: 18 COVID-19 patients on ventilators: 13   Ballad Health implements COVID-19 surge plan To prepare for a huge influx of COVID-19 patients, Ballad Health has created a surge plan that temporarily relocates team members to support overall staffing. These moves will maximize our tertiary capabilities, adding 50 additional beds and increasing our dedicated COVID-19 capacity to approximately 150 beds. Affected facilities include: Hancock County Hospital and Hawkins County Memorial Hospital, pausing all medical admissions…

TO: Ballad Health All FROM: Ballad Health Corporate Emergency Operations Center (CEOC) DATE: July 16, 2020 TITLE: Updated visitation policy – effective July 17 at 11 a.m. ACTION: Please review and share with your team members   THIS POLICY GOES INTO EFFECT ON FRIDAY, JULY 17, AT 11 A.M. In response to a rapid, sustained increase of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Appalachian Highlands, Ballad Health is implementing additional visitation restrictions in its facilities. Effective Friday, July 17, at 11 a.m., Ballad Health’s latest visitation policy and patient guidelines stipulate: A single, designated patient-support person – or visitor – is allowed for the duration of each patient’s 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, or during outpatient procedures. Exceptions include neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and rooms with a pediatric patient which may…

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…