Video Transcript

Kelsey DeClue, Columbus Regional Health Public Information Officer:

Hello and welcome to the COVID-19 Community Task Force update video. You are joining the city and county officials as well as representatives from Columbus Regional Health, and we're here to give you an update of the current situation, response and readiness efforts for COVID-19. We'll start with some comments from Mayor Jim Lienhoop.

Jim Lienhoop, Mayor of Columbus:

Good evening. As we're taping this, it is March 19th, about 5:30 in the evening. Just so we have a little bit of a starting point in terms of where we are. But I want to welcome all of those of you who are watching. As was mentioned earlier, we're joined here with some other officials from the county. I'm joined by Carl Lienhoop, who's the president of the county commissioners, and we're having you here for two reasons. Number one is we'd like to give you a little bit of an update on some of the things that are going on in the community, but the second, and just as important, is to emphasize how serious an issue this is.

The basic number one message that we have for all of you is to please stay home. Now you've noticed that the schools are closed. There are some businesses that are closed and that's a message that all of us need to take to heart because this virus is pretty easily transmitted and we're not only concerned about you or individual catching the virus, but we're interested or concerned about you as an individual transmitting the virus to others.

So, it's not only important for you to stay home because we don't want you to catch the virus. It's important for you to stay home because we don't want you to give the virus to someone else. From the city of Columbus's perspective, I want you to understand that our essential services continue. We have locked all the city buildings, but there are still people inside. So, if you need something from us, please call and we'll make arrangements to either get together with you or to deliver whatever it is that you need. Garbage service will continue on the regular schedule. Police and fire continue on their regular schedules and we think we're going to be able to do that, although we do have reduced staff in the facilities.

But with respect to small businesses, both the businesses themselves and their employees, we understand that there are several different programs that have been announced by the federal government and the State of Indiana and as we have more information on how to access those, we'll share that with you. In the meantime, a great place to go for information on that is the with the city of Columbus Chamber of Commerce.

I want to remind everybody that locally, the United Way has established a COVID-19 relief fund for those individuals who are struggling because of reduced work hours or temporary layoffs. So, that's a place where they can go or where you can direct friends or relatives who may have that kind of problem. We emphasize that earlier today, Governor Holcomb closed all the schools in Indiana through May 1. Previously, I think they had talked about April 6th. But my point behind bringing that up is not only to help disseminate the information, but to underscore and let everybody understand that this is a serious issue and we really don't see a closure on it through that time.

Later on we'll hear from Dr. Niedbalski about orders from the Bartholomew County Health Department related to fitness facilities, movie theaters, bowling alleys, and a few other places.

I want to take a moment too, to talk a little bit about rumors. We've had a number of people call here at city hall and express some concern because rumors they've heard about cities or counties that are closed, that are subject to martial law, that there's restrictions in regard to travel. And we don't have any of that here and there's no plan to do that. We do appreciate the fact that you need to stay home, but if you need to go to the grocery store to get some food or you need to go to the doctor of the hospital or wherever to get medical treatment, we want you to feel comfortable to get out and travel.

And finally tonight I'd like to add just my thanks. I'm extremely proud of the way that Bartholomew County and Columbus City residents have stepped up and come together in this health emergency.

We've worked closely with our partners of Bartholomew County, CRH, the school system, the emergency management services, and many others to prioritize taking care of residents and visitors. Trying to prevent, and slow down where we can, the spread of this virus. So, thank you Kelsey for the opportunity to present. So, I'll switch it over ...

You know, I've noticed, I'll point out. We talk about social distancing, and Carl and I are not practicing that right now and we admit that. But there's two reasons for that. One is we want to be in the video screen and the second is are it's a microphone that sits between. So, again, I emphasize the fact that while we recognize we're maybe not demonstrating social distancing, we do recommend it and we really appreciate it when you can comply with that request. So, Carl?

Carl Lienhoop, President of Bartholomew County Commissioners:

Thank you. Again, I'm Carl Lienhoop, the president of the County Commissioners this year and so I will say ditto to everything that Mayor Jim just delivered to you. In addition, I will comment as far as with some county activities, likewise, all of our county buildings are locked. We do have our employees though that are still training on county business and so all the doors have postings on them with phone numbers so that you can call the various offices and either take care of your business by phone, text, or email. Public meetings are still going to be held. The County Commissioners will hold their meeting Monday morning here at 10:00 o'clock. But we are encouraging the public to refrain from attending unless they just absolutely feel it's necessary that they need to come. Thirdly, we do want to again encourage the public to correspond to the various county offices via email, phone, or text.

Essential services are being provided yet. The health department, Sheriff's department, the landfill, the recycling at the landfill, code enforcement, building permits, things that are going on in the courthouse, marriage license. You just need to make that phone call to the clerk and do the appropriate paperwork.

Again, with the announcement today that the schools are now going to be delayed, we feel like that for sure the next two weeks are very critical in keeping perhaps this virus at bay and what we're hoping again is that transmission will be minimal with appropriate social contact. So with that, I wish the community well. I thank Kelsey for being here this evening with us and I think we're ready to turn it over to the hospital team.

Kelsey DeClue:

Okay. Thank you. Now we will hear from Dr. Brian Niedbalski, our county health officer.

Brian Niedbalski, MD, Bartholomew County Health Officer:

Okay, thank you Kelsey. So, probably the most important announcement that I have to make today is that earlier, our local health department has enacted in order to close the following facilities at midnight tonight until further notice. And those will include any movie theaters and indoor entertainment venues which are still open, gymnasiums and fitness centers, as well as any recreational facilities where people would congregate in groups which do not allow recommended social distancing.

This order is deemed necessary by the city of Columbus, Bartholomew County, as well as Columbus Regional Health. This action is intended to further limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus within our community. Now, there still remains a shortage of testing supplies locally. Hopefully the supply will increase in the next coming days or weeks. With the increase in testing, there should be no surprise that our positive cases will increase. This will not change what we are recommending to our community.

I also want to reinforce the belief that a majority of people at this time do not need to be tested. If you have mild symptoms, please stay home and quarantine yourself for 14 days. We do not want this spread throughout the community. If by any chance you have more severe symptoms consistent with COVID-19 that would require hospitalization, then you will be tested. If you're in the healthcare field and have patient contact and develop symptoms compatible with COVID-19, then you will also definitely be tested. If the public has any questions about the virus or whether you should be seeing a healthcare provider, please call the CRH COVID-19 helpline at 379-4449.

Kelsey DeClue:

Thank you Dr. Niedbalski. And now we'll hear from Columbus Regional Health CEO and President Jim Bickel.

Jim Bickel, Columbus Regional Health CEO and President:

Thank you, Kelsey. As you've heard from Dr. Niedbalski, there's one important thing we can ask all of you to do if you're concerned that you may have contracted the virus or may be suffering from symptoms associated with that virus, and that is to call our COVID-19 triage resource call center at (812) 379-4449. We have expanded the hours of that phone line. We are now operating and staffing that phone line with trained nurses from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM and it is still the best place for the public to reach out to with any concerns or questions.

Our staff can direct you to the appropriate next steps for your individual care and what you should be doing if you feel like you have been exposed or experiencing symptoms. I want to reiterate the testing situation that Dr. Niedbalski referenced. We know there is a shortage of tests available nationwide. We're not unique to that here in Columbus and Bartholomew County. Testing must be ordered by a physician. We realize that testing can be frustrating not only for the individuals who believe they need to be tested, but also for those of us working in the healthcare system.

Closely following national developments every day that are happening to improve the situation in terms of testing availability as well as the turnaround of those tests. If you are a patient that has been tested and is awaiting results, if you've come through Columbus Regional Health, you should continue to self quarantine and monitor your temperature and other symptoms as you wait for those test results.

Please rest assured that as soon as those test results are received from the testing laboratory, you will be notified. Dr. Niedbalski touched on which patients, which individuals, are getting tested right now. And until the availability of testing has improved, we have prioritized the following individuals, health care workers with symptoms, anyone sick enough to be hospitalized with those symptoms, anybody with symptoms that are in a high risk facility such as a nursing home or a correctional facility.

Right now those are the selection criteria for testing, or otherwise ordered by your physician. As soon as the testing becomes more readily available, we will certainly be expanding those that are to be tested.

I want to emphasize that operations at Columbus Regional Health continue to evolve, often daily if not more frequently, as this situation continues to change.

The reason for these changes are for the safety of not only you and our community, but for those of our workforce. Our staff, our physicians, our nurses, etc. The best thing you can do is if you have a procedure or an appointment scheduled, please reach out in advance before coming to the facility. We know these changes can be hard to keep track of and as we certainly are aware of that impact, we would just ask you to call before coming in. Whether it's the main hospital or any of our other outpatient facilities.

We are also preparing for long-term needs beyond where we are today. The social distancing that Dr. Niedbalski, the Mayor, Commissioner Lienhoop have discussed, is vitally important. If we don't all work together and do what we can to minimize this exposure. You've probably heard reports that the US health system could potentially be overwhelmed if we don't flatten the curve and try to reduce exposure.

We are doing our best here at Columbus Regional Health to be prepared for increased inpatient as well as other outpatient facilities as we expect those testing positive to increase. We'll keep you apprised of those developments as we're thinking out in the weeks ahead of how we can be best prepared for a potential increase in these patients.

And I'd like to close and give a sincere and genuine thank you to all of those that are working within Columbus Regional Health, day in and day out, often seven days a week, long hours, to make sure we are here and available for you. Our team of nurses, physicians, other caregivers, and the staff that support those caregivers are working diligently to make sure that we are well prepared for the situation. I want to I express my heartfelt thanks to all of them as we have introduced many, many changes over the last week or so. Thank you.

Kelsey DeClue:

Thank you for joining us for this video update. This marks the first of many regular updates that we will be providing with this format. So, stay tuned for the frequency and further information on how to access those moving forward. Thank you so much.

For the most recent CRH COVID-19 updates, please read Coronavirus Update: What You Need to Know.