Message from Texas Health Hospital Rockwall President Cindy Perrin

ROCKWALL, TX – July 11, 2020 – Texas Health Hospital Rockwall shared the following message today from Cindy Perrin, RN, FACHE, President.

CARING FOR OUR COMMUNITY

During times like this we know there is a lot of information shared through various formats that can be misunderstood due to a lack of context.

While we cannot personally respond to every inquiry or request, we want to keep you updated on what Texas Health Hospital Rockwall is doing to provide the safest and highest quality care for all of our patients while we also plan for any increased needs in our beloved community related to COVID-19.

While we currently see a rise in the number of COVID-19 related admissions in our hospital, we continue to provide the same services as before, including in our emergency rooms and ICU. Because of the increase of patients seeking care for COVID-19, we have implemented our surge plan and added additional waiting rooms to accommodate appropriate social distancing and have moved to a visitor-by-exceptions-only policy. Some non-urgent surgical and endoscopy procedures have been postponed or rescheduled to allocate more space as the rise and fall in our patient census dictates.

All hospitals have surge plans to respond to a crisis when the need arises. When the tornado hit Rowlett and surrounding areas in December 2016, we immediately implemented our plan and cared for an influx of many wounded and wearied individuals from far and wide. While the current pandemic has not created the need for an immediate response like that, we find ourselves today responding with more time to plan. It is true that concerns grow when a number of hospitals are forced to implement their surge plans at the same time, as that can negatively impact transfers for specialized care; however surge plans also trigger blueprints for those situations specifically. Rest assured, we consistently monitor internal and external forces and readily adapt as the situation evolves.

Our hospital began COVID-19 preparations early in the year along with and fully supported by the rest of the Texas Health Resources System, and we stand prepared and ready to care for this community as strongly as ever. At the same time, we continue with our exciting $91m expansion project that will add two floors, more beds and additional service lines such as a Level II NICU in Womens’ Services and cardiac cath labs in Cardiology Services.

We are 100% committed to seeing this pandemic through to the other side – but your help and support are needed. Texas Health Rockwall urges each and every member of this community to do what they can to help contain this virus. This includes social distancing, frequent hand washing, and wearing a face mask in public places where 6-feet of social distancing is not feasible. AVOID large gatherings! Together, we must find a way to co-exist with COVID-19, while encouraging our economy to thrive. Simple, courteous measures as recommended by the CDC provide an inroad to the solution and will help keep businesses open and as many members of our population as healthy as possible.

Your needs are important to us and as a community-based hospital, that is something that we take personally. You can rest assured that our hospital caregivers are fully prepared to care for you as we have been for the past 13 years. Our priority and resources remain committed to putting patient safety first every day and as we move forward with expansion.

Blue Ribbon News staff report. Source: Texas Health Hospital Rockwall

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