Direct Line from Steve Edwards: 2/11/22

Feb. 11, 2022

COVID-19 update

This week, we have experienced an encouraging drop in COVID-positive inpatients. Our positivity rates have declined to around 23% from a high of 46% a few weeks ago. Our daily new positive tests have dropped to 84, down from 896 just three weeks ago.

The Springfield Greene-County Health Department is now reporting about 200 new cases a day, down sharply from 1,000 daily cases.

As of Friday morning, we had 139 COVID-positive patients. I remember how in July 2020, when we first reached 25 COVID patients, we were not sure how much more we could handle.

It is amazing to me what the team has done. Their tireless efforts have helped us manage a patient census that was eventually eight times higher than that initial record of 25.

Our success in meeting our community’s needs is a testimony to our Incident Command team, and especially to the leadership of Karen Kramer.

Karen has led our Incident Command response for nearly two years. On Tuesday, she joined us for her final Incident Command meeting before her retirement. Karen is transitioning to spend more time with her family. I thank her for her leadership and I am grateful that she has agreed to continue lending her expertise to the health system as a senior adviser.

We hope the decline in cases we are seeing right now is a light at the end of the tunnel for our staff who have given so much to support our patients throughout the pandemic.

Springfield hospitals leadership

Today, we saw the transition of leadership at Cox Springfield Hospitals from Karen Kramer to Amanda Hedgpeth. Amanda is an amazing young leader, and while we will never be able to replace Karen, I look forward to seeing the new success Amanda will bring us.

Importance of masking

While the omicron surge shows signs of waning, simple interventions like masking still play a major role in reducing the spread.

The CDC recently released data on the effectiveness of masks: wearing an N95 or KN95 mask lowered the odds of testing positive by 83%. Surgical masks and cloth masks reduced the odds by 66% and 56% respectively. You can see the details here.

Cox Barton achieves stroke center designation

Cox Barton County Hospital has earned a Level III Stroke Center designation, an achievement that reflects the hospital’s role in providing critical patient care in a rural area. Cox Barton County is one of only 29 hospitals in the state to achieve this prestigious distinction.

Air Care anniversary

The Cox Air Care program is celebrating its 33-year anniversary, marking more than three decades of delivering advanced care to patients around the region. You can see an inside look at the program in a new video on our website.

Voice of the patient

From inpatient feedback at Cox Barton County: “My stay at the hospital was great. All nurses and physicians were just the best! I felt like I was being cared for by friends. I thank each of you from the bottom of my heart.”

Thank you for all you do,
Steve