Please, continue to be cautious

Nate Blackford President of Mosaic Medical Center – Maryville

A month has passed since I wrote an article for this paper that began with the following message:

Over 20 weeks ago, we began actively preparing for COVID-19 at Mosaic Medical Center – Maryville. And, over the past 14 weeks, I have been providing weekly updates via this column…. Now, as we settle into our “new normal,” I plan for this to be my final weekly column on the topic. That said, we will continue to provide updates and important information via social media and through this paper as the needs warrant.

So why another article and why now? In short, it’s because over the past 30 days our total number of positive cases has grown by more than 150 percent, with a significant number of those coming in the past two weeks. As businesses have reopened and activities have restarted, we anticipated an increase in positive cases. However, we have seen exponential growth, which is alarming.

Let’s start with the good news. To date, we have not admitted anyone for COVID-19 treatment in our hospital. (That said, two have been transferred to another facility primarily due to underlying health conditions.) We have been VERY fortunate in that regard. Other communities around us have not been as fortunate. However, we can’t let down our guard. COVID-19 is still a serious virus that can cause great harm to those infected.

What do we know about the positive cases? In working closely with the Nodaway County Health Department, our collective contact tracing efforts have supported the fact that most of those who have tested positive (locally, at least) have become infected while socializing with groups of individuals indoors and in close proximity to one another (without proper precautions). In other words, they were not social distancing and/or were not wearing masks.

Now looking forward. I’m not sure about you, but my favorite time of the year is fall. And, in Maryville, that means welcoming university students back to the community from across the country (and world). Their arrival also poses a significant population health concern.

In preparation, we have been working closely with Northwest officials, the county health department, the county commissioners, city officials, etc. to ensure the proper precautions. Part of this effort will include surveillance testing of returning students, which will be led by the university. Together, we will work closely to monitor and address needs as they arise. We will all need to remain flexible.

I want to conclude this week’s article with a quick summary of my message from a month ago.

• Managing this pandemic will be a marathon, not a sprint. We must continue to take actions to mitigate the risks by caring for ourselves and others.
• To date, we have successfully flattened the curve in our area and avoided a population health outbreak. We must continue (and even increase) our efforts to make sure that fact remains true as we head into the fall.
• Wearing masks and keeping a safe distance from others must become a normal part of how we live our lives for the foreseeable future. This is part of our “new normal” and remains the key to reducing the spread of the virus.
• Mosaic Medical Center – Maryville remains a safe place to receive care. We are employing all the necessary precautions and our caregivers stand ready. Please don’t delay your care. It can be detrimental to your health.

Please remember taking the proper precautions is not just about you. Your efforts help protect those around you as well. We are in this together. We are better together. And together we will get through this pandemic.

Editor’s Note

COVID-19 has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. To help our community combat the outbreak, we are providing this content for free. Please consider supporting our efforts in providing local coverage by subscribing to The Maryville Forum.