As the medical director of the Emergency Department at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center I want to reassure the local Whatcom community that the Emergency Department has the equipment, supplies, personal protective equipment (PPE) available that we need to take care of whomever presents to us for care.
Our preparations have been ongoing for many weeks and continue as information becomes available about emerging best practices and how they fit into our physical plant design of our Emergency Department and hospital. There are stories of no masks, no gowns, no beds, and no equipment that unfortunately exist in other parts of the nation. For right now, that is not the case in our Emergency Department and our hospital. We also acknowledge that there may come a time when there are real shortages and we have worked on conserving strategies now in anticipation for that day.
We have very strong working relationships with our EMS partners externally, and internally with our medicine, infection prevention, intensive care unit, radiology, lab, and palliative care colleagues and the dozens of other dedicated healthcare workers behind the scenes as we all face the same challenges for this devastating pandemic.
It’s important that our community have the facts, not misleading inaccuracies and language that incites fear. We must all work toward a common goal of being the most prepared we can be.
--Worth Everett, MD, FACEP
Medical Director, Emergency Department
PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center
