In response to COVID-19

Summit Medical Center is committed to the health and healing of our patients and our community. SMC is a unique hospital, specializing in quality surgical care.  We do not have an emergency department or an intensive care unit that may be affected by an influx of patients related to COVID-19.  Therefore, our responsibility to reduce patient flow varies significantly from a conventional acute care hospital. However, we want to support our community the best way we know how and that is by providing our physicians a place to provide exceptional care to patients.

In response to COVID-19 we are postponing all routine health screening in our radiology and procedural departments.  SMC will not be suspending surgical procedures.  We are relying on the medical expertise of our physicians to determine what surgical and procedural cases are medically necessary. Surgical and procedural cases considered not medically necessary by your physician will be rescheduled at the earliest possible date.

Preventing infection is of the highest importance, and in response to COVID-19 we are taking additional steps to maintain a high level of safety for the community, our patients, and our staff. When it comes to our processes, we have been actively screening all patients for symptoms of COVID-19 along with our normal health screenings during their pre-admission phone call, reminder phone calls and again on both the surgical and inpatient units after admission. At this time, we are requesting that patients do not have visitors unless the patient is underage or has other incapacities.

We have been actively monitoring the personal protective equipment (PPE) allocations. We are now strictly limiting operating room (OR) personnel to essential staff only. Additionally, we have taken extensive measures to conserve our current supplies of PPE, while maintaining our ability to safely care for our patients.

We continue to be in daily contact with several healthcare professional organizations and public health entities at the local, state, and federal level.  SMC is committed to ensuring safe, accessible, and quality healthcare for our community. We will proceed in a responsible manner regarding COVID-19, and we will continue to adapt our practices as needed. Please keep in mind that guidelines, recommendations, and mandates are constantly evolving, and we will update our patients appropriately of any deviations from our current plan.

Please rest assured that we will continue to take extensive infection prevention measures to ensure the safety of our patients, staff, and community.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

The Administrative Staff of Summit Medical Center