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Q&A: PRMC admin answers COVID-19 questions

Plains Regional Medical Center Administrator Drew Dostal, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, has agreed to regular discussions with The News. Here are parts of a Q&A conducted Monday:

Are there any COVID-19 patients being treated at PRMC?

There is one, who just came in today.

Have you had to take patients from other facilities due to COVID-19?

We have not.

How many open beds are there as of Monday?

Right now, we have about 25. We are remaining flexible so we can go back (to higher amounts) if we need to, but we’re using beds for standard care like before (the pandemic).

What is the status of employees and COVID-19 tests? Are there any additional positive tests following the report of PRMC’s first employee positive test last week?

We do have an additional employee who has tested positive. To protect the privacy, we’re not giving specific details of what happened to the patient because they are patients as well. I will say I believe both of our employees, according to tracers, their infections were acquired in the community and not in the hospital.

Are there any policy changes you anticipate for July?

Not at this time. We have precautions to protect our patients, like masking and screenings. We’ve talked about that before and we’re maintaining it for now.

You've said we are still in what would be considered a first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. If we do indeed see a second wave, how would we identify that we were in it?

What I’ve been relying on, like most of the healthcare providers in this area of the country, we’re paying attention to the modeling and the cases reported (by state public health officials). They’re able to tell us if they believe it’s a second wave or still the first wave with an up and down status. I don’t have any clear indicators, unfortunately.

Is there anything else you’d like to address?

We’re seeing lots of people coming in for care, but I still hear stories in the community, as I’m sure you are, about people who are nervous to come back. I just wanted to say we’re following very strict protocols to make sure they’re safe when they come in. We don’t want them to put off care; I can’t emphasize that enough.

— Compiled by Editor Kevin Wilson

 
 
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