{"id":13344,"date":"2020-03-15T13:08:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-15T19:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=13344"},"modified":"2020-03-15T13:08:00","modified_gmt":"2020-03-15T19:08:00","slug":"st-lukes-wood-river-message-to-community-regarding-covid-19-recommendations-and-preparedness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2020\/03\/15\/st-lukes-wood-river-message-to-community-regarding-covid-19-recommendations-and-preparedness\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Luke\u2019s\u00a0Wood River message to\u00a0community regarding COVID-19\u00a0recommendations\u00a0and preparedness\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p4\">Earlier today, South Central\u00a0Public\u00a0Health\u00a0District\u00a0in cooperation with Blaine County Commissioners announced a confirmed local case of coronavirus (COVID-19). While we anticipated the likelihood of\u00a0local cases, we understand that hearing this news may raise questions and concern for members of our community. A few important things to consider as we work together to limit the spread of this illness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">\n<p class=\"p4\">To prevent the spread of COVID-19, use the same precautions you would for the flu and common cold. St. Luke\u2019s recommends these infection-prevention practices:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li4\">If you\u2019re sick, stay home. Call your provider if you suspect you have the virus.<\/li>\n<li class=\"li4\">Wash your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer.<\/li>\n<li class=\"li4\">Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve \u2013 not your hands \u2013 when coughing or sneezing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li4\">Clean your home, workspace, shared items and other frequented locations.<\/li>\n<li class=\"li4\">Avoid unnecessary contact with sick individuals.<\/li>\n<li class=\"li4\">Practice social distancing \u2013 avoid large crowds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p5\">\n<p class=\"p4\">It is still cold and flu season, and you do not need to seek medical attention for a mild respiratory illness such as a cold. However, if you have had close contact with a person with known novel coronavirus or have recently traveled to an area with ongoing spread and you develop fever, cough, or difficulty breathing, contact your primary care provider.\u00a0 Clinic staff will be able to complete a risk assessment over the phone and provide guidance on next steps, which may include arranging testing if necessary.\u00a0Testing will not be performed for people not exhibiting symptoms.\u00a0If you do not have a primary care provider, contact St.\u00a0Luke\u2019s\u00a0Wood\u00a0River\u00a0Family Medicine at 208-788-3434 M- F, 8 a.m. \u2013 6\u00a0p.m\u00a0to schedule an appointment.\u00a0If you need to call after hours, contact 208-381-9000.\u00a0Idaho also has a care line, 211, to assist in finding local resources.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">If you need to visit the emergency department to treat symptoms, call ahead to your local facility and ask for a protective facemask when you arrive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">\n<p class=\"p4\">St. Luke\u2019s is capable of collecting samples to send for testing.\u00a0 All testing results are reported to the state.\u00a0 Current number of tests and people being monitored can be found on coronavirus.Idaho.gov.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s1\">&#8220;The high volume of healthy people calling our clinics and emergency departments or coming to our facilities is affecting our caregivers\u2019 ability to provide care for those truly in need,\u201d Carmen Jacobsen, Chief Operating Officer\/CNO, St. Luke\u2019s Wood River. \u201c<\/span>St. Luke\u2019s has been taking steps to be prepared for COVID-19 since\u202fearly\u202fJanuary. As the situation continues to evolve, you may see us taking additional steps including putting up tents for screening\u202fand\u202fsigns regarding access into our facilities.\u202fThis is all part of our surge planning. This proactive planning helps us prepare to adjust to the evolving circumstances we may encounter.\u201d<span class=\"s1\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">\n<p class=\"p4\">An\u00a0information\u202fhotline\u00a0is\u00a0available:<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">\n<p class=\"p4\">\u2022\u00a0South Central Public Health District, which serves Blaine, Camas, Gooding, Lincoln, Jerome, Minidoka and Twin Falls Counties, can be reached 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays at\u202f208-737-1138.\u202f* Expanded Saturday, March 14<sup>th<\/sup>,\u00a02:00 \u2013 5:00 pm and Sunday, March 15<sup>th<\/sup>, 10:00\u00a0am \u2013 2:00 pm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Earlier today, South Central\u00a0Public\u00a0Health\u00a0District\u00a0in cooperation with Blaine County Commissioners announced a confirmed local case of coronavirus (COVID-19). While we anticipated the likelihood of\u00a0local cases, we understand that hearing this news may raise questions and concern for members of our community. A few important things to consider as we work together to limit the spread of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,18,49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13344","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-community","7":"category-news","8":"category-top-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13344\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}