Salem Township Hospital President Alex Nazarian says while the number of COVID-19 cases has dropped 18-percent in Illinois in the past few weeks, the decline has not yet shown up in the Marion County area.
He noted after Tuesday’s hospital board meeting that the issue is not just a heavier patient volume.
“Our staff is being affected as well. We have staff that are out, for example today one of our clinics is closed because all of our staff are at home either quarantined or sick. So we are being disproportionately affected so the commitment of our employees is just tremendous. They come everyday knowing that today isn’t going to be any better than yesterday. We have to do it because we are the ones who can do it.”
Nazarian says the number of COVID-19 inpatients has been stable and is no longer increasing.
The hospital completed 1,700 COVID tests with 330 positives, for a 19-percent positivity rate, in December. He says if you have an order from your doctor, you
can make arrangements for a drive through test without leaving your vehicle. If you don’t have a doctor, you may enter the hospital for an assessment and a
determination if a test is needed.
The supply chain issues have also hit the hospital. Director of Materials Management Connie Tierney told the board that in many cases she can no longer just order what is needed, but has to figure out work arounds to keep the materials needed for the hospital to operate. Nazarian says Tierney is working miracles
daily.
Supply issues have also delayed the renovation of the emergency room entrance designed to provide better patient flow as well as provide more privacy and
infection control. Nazarian had hoped the project could have been completed six to eight months ago.
“First of all we had to get permission from the state and that was delayed because of their staffing issues. And then we had the project put out to bid then did our part very quickly and now for the past 2.5-3 months we are waiting for the supplies. One of our conditions is supplies have to be on hand. They come in, do the work and finish quickly. We don’t want a lingering project because that’s a main patient flow that goes through there.
Nazarian says while the $15 an hour wage has filled the non-medical positions at the hospital, they still have 24 openings mostly on the nursing staff. He notes
while the hospital’s pay is good and competitive, there just aren’t enough nurses in the area.
In other action, the board reappointed Mike Morton as board chairman, Sandi Phillips vice-chair, and Susan Knapp as secretary. The hospital’s new CFO Carolyn Davies will replace Nazarian as board treasurer.
