{"id":805467,"date":"2020-03-19T15:20:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-19T21:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=380734"},"modified":"2020-03-19T15:20:00","modified_gmt":"2020-03-19T21:20:00","slug":"opinion-st-anthony-summit-medical-center-a-plea-to-our-community-to-follow-public-health-directives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/opinion-st-anthony-summit-medical-center-a-plea-to-our-community-to-follow-public-health-directives\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion | St. Anthony Summit Medical Center: A plea to our community to follow public health directives"},"content":{"rendered":"
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We\u2019re living through an unprecedented period, not only here in Summit County but around the world. Acutely aware of the anxiety many are feeling, it feels appropriate to update you on what\u2019s happening at St. Anthony Summit Medical Center.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve long been blessed with some of the best caregivers anywhere, but at no time has that been on better display than over these past couple weeks. We\u2019re in awe and eternally grateful for the nurses, physicians, techs and other support staff who come to work each day to keep our hospital fully open and operational for Summit County\u2019s sick and injured. They\u2019re the same compassionate, exceptional caregivers they\u2019ve always been, but they\u2019re now operating under additional pressure as the COVID-19 pandemic grips our nation, our state and our community. It\u2019s stressful, difficult work in usual times; it\u2019s amplified exponentially now.<\/p>\n

While there are still many unknowns about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the illness it causes, we know enough to warrant taking strong and immediate action. Our community has an opportunity, if not an obligation, to make decisions \u2014 individually and collectively \u2014 today that can and will save lives here and beyond.<\/p>\n

Our partners at Summit County Public Health and Summit County Emergency Management \u2014 in coordination with the Summit Board of County Commissioners and the towns of Breckenridge, Frisco, Silverthorne, Dillon and Blue River \u2014 have enacted strict and necessary public health orders intended to help slow the spread of COVID-19. The guidance in these orders, including crucial health precautions such as social distancing, will help our community lessen the impact of COVID-19 on our fellow residents. But we all must heed these measures for them to be effective.<\/p>\n

At St. Anthony Summit Medical Center, we\u2019ve been preparing for COVID-19\u2019s arrival in our community for more than two months. While we would not have predicted the state\u2019s first positive case would come from a patient at our hospital, we feel fortunate to have had the staff, training and resources to care for that and other patients skillfully and carefully, and always in following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocols.  <\/p>\n

With other impacted countries as a guide, we know what COVID-19 can do to communities and their health care systems. As part of the Centura Health system, we are in daily contact with our community partners to share information, knowledge and resources. And though we have been allocated all the resources we need to meet our current needs, things can change quickly in times of public health emergencies.<\/p>\n

This is, again, why our community must come together \u2013 today, tomorrow and in the weeks to come. Help us help everyone. The fewer people who contract and spread COVID-19, the more resources we are likely to have for the community members who will need it most. Please do the following, without exception:<\/p>\n