Local News

Okanogan County Hospitals Working Together to Minimize Out of County COVID-19 Patient Transfers


Nov 27, 2020

Mid-Valley Hospital & Clinic in Omak, North Valley Hospital in Tonasket and Three Rivers Hospital in Brewster met via Zoom meeting today to revisit protocols established earlier this year regarding the transfer of COVID-19 positive patients.

 

The overall goal is to improve communication county-wide, expand on the criteria for admitting COVID-19 positive patients locally, and to determine where a patient will be transported if a transfer is necessary. Out of county transfers will only occur if a patient requires a higher level of care and/or if Okanogan County hospitals cannot accept any more patients.

 

With the sudden spike of COVID-19 positive cases in all of Washington, hospitals and healthcare systems are experiencing a shortage in the availability of hospital beds. “This is exactly where we want to make an impact”, says Alan Fisher, CEO of Mid-Valley Hospital & Clinic. “By working together with other healthcare leaders, and if safe and clinically appropriate care can be provided, we can help in not saturating larger hospitals that are already struggling by keeping our patients local”. In addition, the added efforts will alleviate some pressure off of Washington Medical Coordination Center (WMCC).

 

Jennifer Thill, Chief Medical Officer at Mid-Valley Hospital & Clinic added, “Many of these patients we can care for here. By establishing standards in what we can accept safely, and communicating that with the other hospitals, we can avoid unnecessary transfers of patients, and create a baseline as to when a patient’s condition requires advanced care”.


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