Like communities across the country and around the world, Columbus Regional Health and the communities we serve, are still dealing with the effects of the national health pandemic created by the spread of COVID-19. We have made significant progress yet our work continues. 

As our region’s healthcare leader, we took our role seriously and quickly established a proactive and comprehensive response to this crisis. As the inevitability of this pandemic materialized, CRH launched a crucial resource, the COVID-19 Triage Resource Center, to address questions, care concerns and provide guidance to individuals across our community.   This COVID-19 Resource Center is staffed by trained nurses, who not only address callers’ needs on the front end, but also provide follow up with those who are awaiting test results.  

A dedicated team worked swiftly to procure personal protective equipment (PPE) and actively manage our supply inventory, expand sourcing channels and ensure compliance with CDC guidelines for use and maintenance. These efforts allowed CRH to keep our patients, visitors and team members safe and well-positioned in the event of a surge.  We worked diligently to minimize the spread of the virus by dedicating some of our CRH practice locations for patients with virus-like respiratory symptoms where assessment and testing could be completed.  We implemented a new urgent care option for the community for individuals with non-respiratory needs.

New options for care

Telehealth services were launched with nearly all CRH primary and specialty care offices along with many of our outpatient service centers to stay in virtual contact with patients.  Tele-health options allow us to provide the health care our patients’ need while protecting them and our staff from potential exposure.
And the work continues. The safety of our workforce and patients remains our top priority. We continue to stress the importance of physical distancing and staying healthy at home in order to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and the chances of an overwhelming peak of patients with the virus.  These efforts play an important part to ensure we can have the necessary healthcare resources when needed to care for those impacted by the virus. 

Heartfelt thank-you
In closing, I want to express my deepest gratitude to the many businesses and community organizations that have reached out to offer their assistance.  CRH treasures the spirit of collaboration and support across this community as it is very much the soul of our community.

Most importantly, I want to thank all of our physicians, nurses, other frontline caregivers and the many individuals who support our frontline teams for their courageous and selfless care, compassion and commitment.  You all play an important role in life-changing and life-saving work for Columbus, Bartholomew County, and our entire region. I am inspired by your professionalism and commitment to meeting the needs of those we serve.
To stay informed about our ongoing COVID-19, visit crh.org/virus. You can also follow us on our many social media channels and through our community e-newsletter.