Family Health Care Of Hoopeston issued the following announcement on Dec. 10.
I want to give some perspective and insight into our decision to originally close our ELITE locations and now to remain closed until January 2021. Prior to the Thanksgiving weekend COVID surge, GAH experienced major COVID outbreaks among ELITE staff in Paxton and Fairbury. As I mentioned before, GAH staff are not getting COVID from the hospital or clinics. They are getting it from community spread and bringing it into the workplace. So ELITE staff became infected.
Thus, the decision to close ALL ELITE's for public and staff safety and see if the surge subsided. We expected to see an uptick after Thanksgiving, and we have. IN a BIG way. So we remain closed. We are expecting yet another surge after Christmas. Thus, our decision to remain closed until January 19th, hoping we have reduced the surge of COVID. Now other workout facilities remain open, but they are not part of a Hospital battling the COVID virus and saving patients lives. ELITE IS.
Our ELITE staff are not sitting at home waiting for ELITE to reopen. They are all working, hand in hand, with our front line heros, saving patients lives everyday. GAH has now had more than 80 staff infected with COVID. And more every day. Including Providers. So ELITE staff are working in Laundry, the Kitchen, doing COVID swabs of staff, answering phones on the nursing floors, covering the front desk, helping staff the clinics, etc.. GAH needs those ELITE staff doing Hospital work at this time to make up for others off with COVID. In the Spring, we had ONE, yes ONE patient in the hospital with COVID for TWO days.
After Thanksgiving, we had to close off an ENTIRE WING of the Hospital to accommodate the number of COVID patients we have (currently at 8). Our ED has been overrun with COVID positive patients, who fortunately most can stay at home and recover on their own.
We recently had our first staff member DIE from COVID. Not made up. No other reasons. Got COVID and done. GAH is in the THICK of COVID and our staff and healthcare HEROS are doing an OUTSTANDING JOB in making sure all are cared for. So when I ask YOU, yes YOU in the community to Wash your hands and WEAR A MASK, and social distance and stay within your family bubble, it is for the well being of ALL of us.
PLEASE HELP us stem the tide of COVID surge.
Original source can be found here.
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