ARTICLE
For Immediate Release Date: 3/13/20 Contact: Frank Corcoran, Chief Nursing Officer, Geary Community Hospital, corcoranf@gchks.org (321)289-1291 Dani Holliday, Community Development Coordinator, Konza Prairie Community Health Center, dholliday@kpchc.org Local Health Agency Joint Response to COVID-19 Junction City, KS- Geary Community Hospital (GCH) and Konza Prairie Community Health Center (Konza) have joined forces to coordinate response efforts regarding COVID-19, a global and in cases, deadly virus spreading rapidly across the globe. As the two largest healthcare providers in Geary County, serving thousands of patients throughout the region, public health safety is the top priority for both organizations The safety of staff, patients, and others who must access GCH and Konza facilities is paramount. Geary Community Hospital has operationalized its emergency/crisis plan during the COVID-19 outbreak. GCH is adhering to State and federal guidelines for testing and treating the public. Implementing onerous restrictions is required to safeguard public health. Effective 3/16/20, the following measures will be instituted until the outbreak has ceased: 1. GCH will restrict access to the Hospital for patients, visitors, employees, and clinical personnel. Only the Emergency Room doors will be available. 2. There will be a formal check-in and check-out process for everyone utilizing the Emergency Room door, including the use of visitor badges. If a patient or visitor does not have a badge, they will be escorted out of the buildings immediately. 3. Patients are limited to one companion--- no exceptions during this time. 4. Loitering, social visits, and public access to the cafeteria will not be allowed during this time. 5. Every non-staff person must be screened for COVID-19 symptoms upon entering the hospital- no exceptions. 6. All vendors and contractors must access through the same point of entrance/exit in the Emergency Room, unless other plans have been approved by authorized GCH personnel. 7. Security personnel will be enhanced during this time in order to protect citizens’ safety and to assist in enforcing these temporary rules. Konza has also operationalized its emergency/crisis plan and will make every effort to support measures implemented by GCH to mitigate the local impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. Effective immediately, Konza will implement the following measures until the COVID-19 outbreak ceases: