Appreciation to Loved Ones of Our Healthcare Colleagues
We now face one of the worst times since the pandemic began. We know this has been stressful for you, and we want to thank you for the support you continue to give your healthcare hero.
COVID-19 Community Spread at All-Time High for Asymptomatic
Going out for dinner with friends? Enjoy your evening but know your risk and plan accordingly. Right now, 1 in 6 people in our area have COVID-19 with no symptoms.
On Dec. 30, we resumed sharing system COVID-19 data with the community. Our dashboard is posted on the memorial.health webpage and shared on Memorial Health social media platforms on Thursday afternoons. The goal is to help our community better understand the reality of the impact of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. Please encourage your family and friends to refer to this as an accurate source of information.
Memorial Health Emergency Departments are not testing sites for people with mild symptoms of COVID-19 or to meet return-to-work or return-to-school status requirements.
If you experience a health emergency or serious COVID-19 symptoms, like severe shortness of breath, go to your local ED immediately.
If you or a loved one experience mild COVID-19 symptoms like a head cold, act as if you have COVID-19 infection. Wear a medical-grade mask and isolate from family and friends for at least five days. Use local pharmacies, county health departments, COVID-19 pop-up testing sites or a SHIELD Illinois testing site. Many local pharmacies offer both in-person and at-home testing options.
If you have been exposed to COVID-19 but are not showing symptoms or have minor symptoms, take infection prevention precautions. Wait 3-5 days from your date of exposure to test for accurate results. It is possible to test too early and receive a false negative.
Know Where to Go: Choose Appropriate Level of Care
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise throughout our region, you can get the treatment you need more quickly by choosing the appropriate level of care. Visiting your primary care provider or an urgent care clinic, or accessing telehealth, are quicker and more convenient for non-emergency situations.
Emotionally Numb after COVID-19 Marathon? You’re Not Alone.
“Going numb” is one way people adapt to a prolonged time of heightened emotional response. According to Tisha Bayless, LCPC, and a manager with Memorial Behavioral Health, feeling numb doesn’t mean you don’t care, and it doesn’t mean you don’t recognize the seriousness of the pandemic.
In collaboration with POLST IL, Memorial Health offers education to skilled nursing facilities about the appropriate use of Practitioner Order for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST).
This class provides parents with information about breastfeeding and offers support for new breastfeeding families.
About Memorial Health
One of the leading healthcare organizations in Illinois, Memorial Health of Springfield is a community-based, not-for-profit corporation dedicated to patient care, education and research.
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