Mercy Health; Letter to Valued Patients

Dear Valued Parient, 

Over these past several weeks, our lives have changed dramatically. Each day, we learn more about the COVID-19 virus, which jsut two months  ago, seemed a whole world away. Now, it is in our backyard, and no one in Michigan will be untouched by the effects of this virus. 

At Mercy Health, our clinical leadership team has been working around the clock preparing to care for our community in new ways. We have had to cancel classes and elective procedures, created work-at-home policies for our support colleagues, and developed robust clinical staffing models to make way for restructuring our hospitals into Intensive Careready Units for the outbreak of COVID-19 in our communities. Our West MIchigan hosptials in Grand Rapids and Muskegon are starting to feel this "surge."

As part of Trinity Health, our parent compant and national Catholic health care system, we are working together to keep you, our communities and clinicaians as safe and healthy as we possibly can: 

  • Enforced "No Visitor" restrictions - Under Governor Gretchen Whitemer's Executive Order, we have restricted all visitors from entering our facilities, with very limited exceptions. See our current visitor policy. 
  • Canceled all non-urgent elective procedures - All non-urgent surgical and elective procedures have been postponed. Urgent or emergent surguries and procedures will continue based on need for urgen intervention. Our frst priority is to safegaurd patients and staff while maintaining our commitment to the well-being of our pateints. We also need to redirect resources including staff and supplies to the treatment of patients with the virus. 
  • Enhanced our Virtual Care options - Our providers are expanding e-vistis and video appointments so that patients still have access to needed health care from the safety of their own home. 
  • Added a COVID-19 hotline - To help you stay connected to the latest information on COVID-19 and to find primary care physician if you do not currently have one, you may call 1-833-247-1258. 
  • Opened Testing and Screenign Locations -We have increased our testing capability through our own labs allowing us to get results within 24 hours. We opened screening centers at several of our hospitals and created a free online COVID-19 screaning tool. 
  • We are working closely with public health officials - Every day, we are learning new things about the spread of this virus, the numbers of those infected continue to rise, and we must be nimble and adapt in ways that keep our patients and clinicians safe. We are working closely with public health officials at the local, state and national levels to monitor the spread of the virus as well as our colleagues at other health systems as things continue to change rapidly. 
  • Monitoring crucial supplies - This includes masks, hand sanitizer and other personal protective equipment. We have palced orders for additional supplies. We are also accepting donations of protective gear from the community. Please visit our website to learn how to donate supplies and funding specifically for the COVID-19 outbreak. 
  • Prioritizing the health and safety of our health care workers -We are fully committed to ensuring the safest environment possible for our colleagues who continue to report to work and take care of our patients. Although we face challenges, we are working diligently to provide the necessary equipment and staff needed to ensure everyone's safety. 

We have many resources available for you to help you naviagte your health care at this time. I implore that the most important thing you can do to stay well adn to help negate the spread of this virus is to stay home. 

If you experience a life-threatening emergency, call 911. If you think you have COVID-19, call your doctor. If you are having difficulty breathing, go to your closest Emergency Room. 

Thank you for choosing Mercy Health as your health care provider. Together, we will get through this, and we stand ready to care for you in this deep time of need. 

Please visit www.mercyhealth.com/covid19 for up to date information and to access telehealth options.