AMMC COVID-19 Update: March 26, 2020

Aspen Mountain Medical Center is continuing to meet the needs of our community by performing high quality surgical care to those who are in need of urgent elective procedures. The continuance of each procedure is evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the surgeon and the patient. The urgency of each procedure varies depending on the individual circumstances. For example, a child who requires a myringotomy with tube placement may appear to be a non-urgent elective procedure. However, this child could hypothetically be finishing his third round of antibiotics with no relief from his discomfort. If a tube is not surgically placed in the child’s ears to eliminate the infected drainage, the child may even need to be seen at an already overwhelmed Emergency Department for uncontrolled fever or pain. To avoid further harm to the child the classification of urgency is best decided upon between the surgeon and the patient.  Therefore, our team continues to account for various factors when analyzing the risk and benefit of each procedure.

Preventing infection remains to be of the utmost importance to our team at AMMC, and in response to COVID-19 we are still taking additional measures to maintain a high level of safety for the community, our patients, and our staff.

We continue to actively screen all surgical patients for symptoms of COVID-19 during their pre-admission phone call, and again on both the surgical and inpatient units after admission. All patients, visitors, staff, physicians, and delivery personnel that enter our building are required to have their temperature checked, answer a series of COVID-19 screening questions, and perform proper hand hygiene before they are granted access to our building. We are also continuing to limit the number of visitors per patient. Each patient is now allowed only one visitor and the visitor must be over the age of eighteen. 

AMMC remains in daily contact with various healthcare organizations and public health entities at the local, state, and federal level in an effort to ensure our ability to provide safe, accessible, and quality healthcare for our community. Aspen Mountain Medical Center will stay apprised of our current scope within the community’s emergency management plan, as the effects of COVID-19 impact the Sweetwater County healthcare system. We will remain versatile in regard to our role within the community, and adjustments will be made on an as needed basis, as outlined within the Memorandum of Understanding we share with other healthcare organizations in the area. 

Please keep in mind that guidelines, recommendations, and mandates are constantly evolving, and we will update our patients appropriately of any deviations from our current plan. Please reference our Facebook page, or our website at https://aspenmountai.wpengine.com/ for the most recent updates.  

If you have any additional questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact us directly at 307-352-8900. 

Sincerely, 

The Administrative Staff of Aspen Mountain Medical Center