Once again, our caregivers are being called on to contend with another surge in COVID cases in Humboldt County, this time caused by the highly infectious Omicron variant. Similar to hospitals across the nation, a significant number of our caregivers are off work with mild symptoms which has led to severe staffing challenges. If our experience mirrors that of the rest of the country, Humboldt County will likely see a significant rise in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 over the next few weeks, primarily in people who are unvaccinated.
As we navigate our current COVID surge and the enormous pressure it puts on all health care workers, we ask for your patience in areas where our services may be delayed or rescheduled due to limited outpatient MRI availability, reductions in the elective procedure and surgical schedule, and longer than normal wait times in our emergency rooms. We thank you for your understanding as we shift our resources to care for those with the most urgent medical needs.
Currently, senior hospital leadership is concentrating on the recruitment and retention of permanent and temporary staff to maintain our high-quality of care during these unprecedented times and beyond. As we have done throughout this pandemic, we will continue to support a care environment that prioritizes the health and safety of our patients and caregivers.
With that in mind, our hospitals have taken several precautions to ensure the safety of all who enter our doors, including:
- Implementing the more restrictive visitor policy we had in place late September of 2021 in order to reduce the change that a visitor will expose patients or caregivers. Visit our website or ask a member of your care team for a copy of our visitor policy.
- Visitors must be screened for symptoms at every visit and must be symptom free with no recent COVID-19 exposures. Visitors must comply with California Department of Public Health (CDPH) mandates, which include showing proof of full vaccination or documentation of a negative COVID-19 test.
- Abiding by the CDPH mandates that require that all eligible caregivers be vaccinated and receive booster shots. We adhere to CDC guidelines and/or local health department requirements which govern how we respond to, and address caregiver return to work after COVID-19 exposure or illness.
We are grateful to be here to care for our community members when you need us most. Thank you for entrusting us with your health care needs.
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