C.O. health care leaders see improvement due to social distancing

Patient volume down, but so is St. Charles Health System revenue, PPE

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Central Oregon health care leaders say they have seen signs of improvement due to people’s efforts in following social distancing guidelines.

On Thursday, St. Charles Health System hosted a virtual town hall, addressing the updated response to the coronavirus pandemic.

As the largest medical provider in Central Oregon, it’s still preparing for a surge in patients while trying to keep its staff safe. 

Dr. Jeff Absalon, St. Charles’ chief physician executive, said the patient volume in the hospitals has gone down, with elected procedures postponed, but now hospitals are seeing a large increase in patients with respiratory illnesses.

He said although the hospital has strict guidelines regarding who can be tested for COVID-19, people showing symptoms related to the virus, including a high fever, dry cough and chest pain, should see their primary care provider.

The St. Charles lab has tested 938 people. Of those, 33 cases were positive, and 137 cases are still pending results. St. Charles has been sending samples to the University of Washington for testing, and Absalon said the results take a couple of days.

Absalon said St. Charles could start local on-site testing as early as Friday. The turnaround for the results of those tests are expected to take hours, instead of days.

Absalon said they have enough supplies and personal protective equipment to last workers about three to four more weeks, but if they see a significant surge of patients, that timeframe could be less. He said they appreciate donations from the community to help meet the need for more PPE.

St. Charles Chief Financial Officer Jenn Welander said its finances have also taken a hit due to the pandemic.

She said daily revenue fell about 45 percent since March 16, while the health system’s expenses increased.

Michael Johnson, a senior data scientist, said although it seemed like Central Oregon was lagging behind other parts of the state and metro areas like Salem and Portland in its response to COVID-19, he believes the lag is good.

“The models we use are sensitive to several parameters, and perhaps the most important and one of the most sensitive is the adherence to social distancing measures,” Johnson said. “They have the potential to cut the numbers significantly -- way more than half.”

Johnson said although there are various models with different data related to COVID-19 cases and medical response, it is important for people to keep in mind what is accurate for other parts of Oregon does not accurately reflect what’s happening in Central Oregon.

St. Charles President and CEO Joe Sluka said it appears social distancing efforts are working.

“Your efforts are really making a  difference in allowing us precious time to prepare, but I also want to say now is not the time to let up,” Sluka said.

For updated information about St. Charles Health System’s response to COVID-19, visit their website.