Press Release - Ridgecrest Regional Hospital COVID-19 Advisory and Response (4.6.20)

Monday, April 6, 2020, Ridgecrest, Calif. –Ridgecrest Regional Hospital (RRH) has entered its second week anticipating for a potential surge from COVID-19 or the novel coronavirus disease 2019.

The hospital can reveal that expansion areas are already set up to accommodate both emergency and intensive care patients and plans have been put into place for additional physician coverage, including ventilator management, should the need be required. The RRH medical staff office is continually reviewing the current nationwide treatment guidelines for COVID-19, to ensure the hospital is prepared and up to date with current standards.

“Our clinic physicians and staff have done a great job transforming to more telemedicine visits, while still being available for patients with acute symptoms,” said Jim Suver, RRH President/CEO. “The drive-through exam service continues to be an important part of our strategy as well. We are thankful as ever for the support of our hospital board and their recent approval on the ordering of additional equipment, which will help eliminate wait times with outside labs and allow us to provide more timely test results from our own hospital lab.”

Suver continued, “As we enter week two, waiting for a potential surge, I am confident that our community hospital is prepared. We hope and pray that this preparation does not become necessary, but realize the importance of it for our community.

Please continue to practice the shelter at home and social distancing as recommend by our county, state and federal government. This keeps our residents well and protects our staff. We appreciate the community’s past, present and future efforts in getting us through this pandemic.”

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing, or having been in a public place.

• Avoiding touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick, and stay away from large gatherings and crowds.

• If you are at a higher risk, stay home as much as possible. Consider ways of getting food brought to your house through family, social, or commercial networks.

Information and updates continue to be provided at rrh.org/covid19 and across the hospital’s social media pages.