COVID-19 Response – March 17, 2020

The health and well-being of the residents of Rock Springs and surrounding communities has always been the goal of Aspen Mountain Medical Center (AMMC). Preventing infection is of the utmost importance, and in response to COVID-19 we are taking additional measures to maintain a high level of safety for the community, our patients, and our staff. At this time that does not include cancelling elective surgical procedures.

AMMC is a unique hospital, specializing in quality surgical care. Therefore, our obligation to reduce patient flow varies greatly from a conventional acute care hospital. We do not have an emergency department or an intensive care unit that may be affected by an influx of patients related to COVID-19. In fact, facilities similar to AMMC in many States have been asked to continue performing elective surgeries as a means to absorb the overflow of cancelled surgeries from more conventional hospitals.

When it comes to our processes, we have been actively screening 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. We are also limiting the number of visitors per patient to two, and each visitor must be over the age of eighteen. We are actively screening all patients, visitors, staff, and any delivery personnel that enter our building.

It is always our policy to prevent any staff members with signs of an infection from working until they are no longer contagious. Our physicians are dedicated to upholding the same standard in an effort to ensure the health of their patients and co-workers. 

We have been actively monitoring the personal protective equipment (PPE) allocations as well. Although we are generally welcoming to students, we are now strictly limiting operating room (OR) personnel to essential staff only. Additionally, we have taken extensive measures to conserve our current supplies of PPE, while maintaining our ability to safely care for our patients. 

At this time we will continue to meet the needs of our community by performing high quality surgical care. We remain in daily contact with various healthcare professional organizations and public health entities at the local, state, and federal level.  AMMC is dedicated to ensuring safe, accessible, and quality healthcare for our community. We will proceed in a responsible manner in regards to COVID-19, and we will continue to adapt our practices as needed. 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 rest assured that we will continue to take extensive infection prevention measures in an effort to ensure the safety of our patients, staff, and community.

If you have any additional questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Sincerely, 

The Administrative Staff of Aspen Mountain Medical Center