We are no longer on the front line.
When Madera Community Hospital was the first Central Valley healthcare
system to care for a COVID-19 positive patient in March of 2020, we reassured
you; “we are on the front line”. We promoted our clinical
expertise and medical training to provide you with confidence and a trusted
local source of information.
From the beginning, we asked you to follow the guidance for reducing the
spread of COVID-19 knowing your actions would ultimately save lives. We
wrote letters to the editor and held weekly community briefings to reinforce
the science on ways to “flatten the curve.” We dispelled rumors
and opened your hearts to the devastating mental health impact of the
pandemic. We have spent hours counseling our colleagues and even more
hours caring for anxious and often very sick patients. Over the course
of caring for nearly 900 patients with COVID-19, we grew increasingly
concerned about patients who delayed coming to the ER out of fear of contracting
the “virus.” Unfortunately, many of these patients waited too long.
We have had access to all the COVID-19 diagnostic tools and treatments
found in major medical centers. Our hospital and patients have benefited
from financial gifts, providing new technology to ease the impact of hospitalization
and improve clinical outcomes. And yet, we have had to deliver record
breaking, gut wrenching news to 48 families of patients who lost their
battle against COVID-19.
After 10 months of reassuring you, it is evident, we are no longer on the
front line of this virus - you are.
Our clinical training cannot cure the current economic sickness or the
eroding mental health of our youth and seniors. It is your turn to fight
against the virus. We ask you to do the right thing, not the ‘personal
right’ thing. Please:
- Wear a face covering when out in public.
- Do not gather unless you are outdoors, wearing mask or a minimum of 6 feet apart.
- Wash your hands frequently.
- Get the seasonal flu vaccination.
With you on the front line, working to stop the spread of COVID-19, we
are hopeful. Hopeful that your dedication will bring much physical and
economic health in 2021.
Terrance McGovern, DO
Board Certified Emergency Medicine
Medical Director, Emergency Services
Ali Rashidian, MD
Board Certified Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, Critical Care Medicine
Medical Director, Inpatient Services
Bakht Roshan, MD
Board Certified Infection Disease
Chair, COVID-19 Medical Staff Taskforce