MOUNT GILEAD — While Morrow County has not yet had any confirmed cases of the new coronavirus (COVID-19,) Morrow County Hospital is preparing for an influx in cases of the disease.
Jill Fazekas, Communications Manager for Ohio Health, is confident that MCH is doing everything possible to cope with the disease.
“Morrow County Hospital has been working around-the-clock on COVID-19 as we continue our commitment to care for our community in the coming weeks. We are aligned with the Morrow County Health Department, EMS leaders, fire department leadership, police, and other key city and county personnel,” Fazekas said in a communication Friday..
Commissioner Warren Davis is pleased with the cooperation and collaboration among county agencies such as the Health Department, EMA, the Morrow County Hospital, and Sheriff’s Office. He was part of the county’s COVID-19 Emergency Response meeting where the hospital shared how they were updating their response plan.
” We are following guidelines and updating our action plan based on guidance from the state of Ohio. We continue to provide daily status updates to the Morrow County Health Commissioner. Fazekas said.”
Questions also have come up as to whether there is an adequate supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks and ventilators available for use in the county and elsewhere.
“Due to the national shortage of Personal Protection Equipment, (PPE) we are taking every step necessary to preserve these valuable resources and to protect the public and our healthcare providers. It’s times like these that we (Morrow County Hospital) truly value the resources of working with a larger health system like OhioHealth to ensure we have the necessary resources to care for our community,” Fazekas said.
Director of Ohio Department of Health Dr. Amy Acton spoke at both the Saturday and Sunday state news briefings of how PPE such as ventilators are being “repurposed.” All elective and non-essential surgeries in the state were ordered canceled by the governor last Wednesday. There is an effort to conserve equipment that is used for elective, or non-essential, surgery to be redirected for use when there is need by hospitals as the disease spreads.
