Unity Medical Center Reassures Community Members About Hospital and Clinic Safety Amid Evolving COVID-19 Pandemic

Unity Medical Center’s Manchester Rural Health Clinic (formerly Brandon Medical Group) will close temporarily for cleaning after employee tests positive

Administrators at Unity Medical Center were notified on Tuesday, September 15, 2020 of a positive COVID-19 result from Manchester Rural Health Clinic. A decision has been made to close the office for cleaning and to allow other exposed employees to self-isolate and receive testing.

Unity is happy to provide free COVID testing to any patient that was treated at Manchester Rural Health Clinic on Monday, September 14, 2020 or Tuesday, September 15, 2020, upon request. “We are thankful that we were able to avoid having any positive results up until this point,” said Martha McCormick, CEO. “We knew that this was inevitable due to the nature of this virus. I would like to commend the office staff and administrators at Manchester Rural Health Clinic for isolating this so quickly.” We recognize that these are uncertain times and you may have concerns about you, your family members, and friends receiving medical care, even more so than normal. As always the health and safety of our patients, caregivers and community is our top priority.

At Unity Medical Center, we remain diligent in our fight against coronavirus (COVID-19), and we want to provide you with an update about the thoughtful and deliberate steps we’re taking to reopen our hospital and return to standard operations during this ever-evolving pandemic. Over the last few months we have become aware that many in our local and non-local communities have not sought medical care for their urgent healthcare needs unrelated to COVID-19, due to fear and uncertainty about the safety of hospitals. We want to reassure you of the numerous additional protocols that we have implemented to ensure their safety. We are here to take care of our community and we are well-equipped to handle any health concern they may have.

Our facilities have maintained historically strict standards for infectious diseases while following updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and we will continue to do so to ensure the safety of all. We have carefully prepared for the re-opening of many postponed services. We have introduced enhanced precautions to ensure
a safe environment for health care delivery.

Here are just a few of the steps we’re taking to keep our patients, visitors and our clinical teams safe:

• Screening processes are in place for all patients, and visitors entering and or transferring into our facilities.

• Updated visitor policies, including limitations, which have been in place for the duration of the pandemic, remain in place across our
facility. One screened and masked visitor is welcome to accompany a patient in care facilities.

• Universal masking is required throughout all our facility, which exceeds CDC guidelines. We continue to have adequate supply of personal
protective equipment (PPE) for patients, visitors, clinicians and caregivers.

• Heightened infection prevention policies instituted, including the removal of high-touch items such as magazines and toys, from our facilities. • Our teams are working to advance technology-enabled solutions that minimize patients’ time in facility waiting areas.

• Each care facility has a separate location for COVID-19 positive patients and those who are under investigation. These patients are masked and escorted to designated locations.

• Non-COVID-19 patients, as well as those receiving outpatient care, or
patients with scheduled procedures, are treated in separate areas and assigned caregivers who are not concurrently caring for COVID-19 positive patients.

• We added screeners to manage expanded screening processes designed to
identify anyone who may have respiratory illness and expedite their entry to a dedicated COVID-19 area.

We are working with major commercial lab companies to increase testing capacity within our own facility. Unity Medical Center remains focused on providing our patients with outstanding care. As we continue to monitor the dynamic shifts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we will provide periodic updates on our continued efforts to care for our patients, caregivers and community. For up to date information and answers please continue to reach out to us, as we stand ready to support you and our patients. As we re-open our cities and work to establish a new normal routine, we
encourage you to continue to follow current CDC guidance regarding social distancing and hand hygiene. These important infection prevention measures will help keep yourself and others in our community safe. We would like to thank you for your support during this unprecedented challenge and for standing with us in our shared commitment to
protecting our health and safety, today and every day.

For more information, contact Unity Medical Center at 931-728-6354