Direct Line with Steve Edwards for 3/13/2020

Greene County’s first COVID-19 case confirmed

As you likelyheard last night, the first case of COVID-19 in Greene County involved a patient who sought care at an off-campus CoxHealth facility in Springfield. Thanks to great teamwork, all proper procedures and policies were followed in identifying and testing this case, helping keep staff and other patients safe. You can view Governor Parson’s news conference here. Others will come in the days that follow.

We established our incident command center three weeks ago, and assigned section chiefs focused on handling logistics, operations, and scenario planning. Being in the middle of the country, we have been fortunate to have more time than the west coast, which has allowed us to learn and apply lessons. We are working in a unified fashion with Springfield Greene County Health Department and Mercy. For example, starting Monday, we will have a mobile testing site for COVID19. Cox and Mercy will share responsibilities staffing this site and providing supplies. It will require a physician referral. We are focused on social distancing to flatten the curve of transmission and will be especially assertive in enacting these changes. It only works if we take the necessary measures before they seem necessary. This is a novel virus, which means it is new, and we are understanding it more each day. In many ways we expect outcomes similar to the flu. Like the flu, older patients and those with co-morbidities such as diabetes, COPD, and hypertension are at increased risk. We are treating this differently than the flu because it is new, and we don’t fully understand it. It is my hope that we have good outcomes and I pray we have far less fatalities than the flu. But to be safe we are preparing for something that could be worse.

Annual ISO-9001 review a success

CoxHealth has successfully completed its annual DNV-GL ISO-9001 certification review. During their exit summary, examiners gave us great feedback and said there were no quality management system findings. They noted that our ISO-9001 audit program is thorough and strong. They also complimented our high engagement of staff with quality, human resources’ efforts that demonstrated a clear investment in staff and very innovative community benefits.

Women’s Center Bone Density Clinic receives accreditation

The Women’s Center Bone Density Clinic in The Turner Center at Cox South has received accreditation from the International Society of Bone Densitometry (ISCD). The facility is the first bone density clinic to receive this five-year accreditation in Missouri and one of only 42 sites in the U.S. that has achieved this accreditation.

CoxHealth participates in ‘Thank a Donor’ program

CoxHealth hospitals in Springfield and Branson are participating in a Community Blood Center of the Ozarks program that allows patients who receive blood to thank their donor. Blood recipients can send anonymous messages to the donor and offer thoughts of appreciation.

Charity of the month - The Center for Dyslexia and Learning

In March, we are highlighting the Center for Dyslexia and Learning, which is housed in The Turner Center on the Cox South campus. The center was created due to a lack of resources for dyslexic youth in southwest Missouri. This non-profit organization employs 20 tutors in two community locations that serve the entire southwest Missouri region.

Voice of the patient

"Everyone was very pleasant, professional and caring, especially Joel, who even went as far as asking me what flavor of Jell-O I preferred and asked if I wanted my blinds open in the morning. He also has so much compassion and what a wonderful, genuine smile, which I saw every time he was in my room."

Thank you for everything you do to support our patients and our community,

Steve