No time to be complacent about COVID-19

Dear community members,

All Northern Light Health hospitals, care centers and campuses have implemented universal masking, including face coverings for patients and visitors. We have embraced this at Northern Light Mayo and CA Dean Hospitals. While we are aware that there is only one confirmed case reported in Piscataquis County, we know that the virus is here.  We have seen and treated patients with COVID-19 at Mayo. The social measures we have taken thus far are proving to be effective at decreasing community transmission of the virus, but they are not going to eliminate it. There is no time to become complacent as the virus knows no county lines and does not discriminate against rural or urban areas.

Face coverings help stop the spread of COVID-19 even if you don’t have any symptoms.  That is why the CDC and Northern Light Health recommend wearing them every time you are in a situation where you may not be able to maintain social distance. This includes running essential errands like getting groceries, going to work or visiting your healthcare providers. 

Face coverings are not medical devices, but cloth masks, scarves, or bandanas worn over the nose and mouth to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Cloth face coverings should:

• Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
• Be secured with ties or ear loops
• Include multiple layers of fabric
• Allow for breathing without restriction
• Be able to be laundered and machine dried without damage or change to shape

Things to remember:

• Wearing a face covering doesn’t protect you from getting COVID-19, it helps prevent you from spreading it. You should still practice good hand hygiene, safe distancing, cover your cough, and stay home when you can. 
• Remember to wash your hands before you put your face covering on and after you take it off, trying only to touch the straps that help hold it in place, rather than the fabric.
• Always wear your face covering with the same side facing your mouth and nose.
• Cloth face coverings should not be used on children under age two, anyone who has trouble breathing or who is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove their mask without assistance.

Expanded access to care:

On April 28, Gov. Janet Mills announced the steps that the state of Maine would take to reopen the economy. One of the first steps of this plan includes the gradual, safe ramping up of patient care that may have been delayed.

Northern Light Health played an integral part in the development of the plan to bring healthcare services back online throughout the state. As a system, we will be taking steps to bring staff and patients back on site over the next weeks and months to ensure that our communities continue to receive the care that they need, when they need it, in a safe environment.

It’s important to remember that we will not be returning to normal in the pre-COVID-19 sense but will provide care in a world where COVID-19 still exists. This means that we will all be taking extra safety precautions – wearing masks and face coverings; continuing to screen staff, patients, and visitors as they come to our facilities; and implementing new safe distancing protocols. We are committed to expanding the use of telemedicine now and ongoing to be able to provide the right care to you at the right time and in the right place in a cost-effective manner.

We want to thank all members of our community for their continued commitment to the health of our friends, neighbors, and families. Working together we have done an incredible job to flatten the curve of infection. Our work is not over, and as we enter the next phase of this outbreak we will need to support one another more than ever.

Northern Light Health and Mayo and CA Dean hospitals are essential members of the public health team in Piscataquis County.  We stand ready to support decision makers at the county, town or individual business as they face the difficult decisions to guide their paths back toward our new normal living with this virus in our midst.

Vienneau, BSN, MHA, FACHE is president of Northern Light Mayo Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft and Northern Light CA Dean Hospital in Greenville and Dr. McDermott MD, MPH is senior physician executive.