COVID-19
There are a lot of questions about COVID-19. If you feel you need to come to the Emergency Room, please call 307-746-3700 before you do. We are taking precautions for the health of everyone.
WCHS is asking for no visitors for Manor residents, hospital patients or with ER patients at this time. There is an exception for pediatric patients and specific situations such as compassionate care situations. Those visitors will be required to wear face masks and perform hand hygiene.
The front doors of the facility will be locked from 6:00 pm to 7:00 am each weekday and all weekend. Please call 307-746-3700 for more information. We appreciate your patience and understanding. Thank you!
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do we have testing kits?Yes we have plenty of testing kits. We are doing an average of 7-10 tests per week, just at the hospital, that doesn’t include testing done at the clinics. We are testing anyone who the providers feel are at risk and meet the criteria. You have to see your provider and they have to order the test.
- Are there rapid testing kits?Yes there are rapid testing kits being produced by manufactures, but because we are small and have no known cases, we are low on the priority list to receive rapid testing kits. Facilities that are able to get kits can only use them on patients in a facility (nursing home, assisted living) or for healthcare providers.
- How long does it take to get results back? We are sending test to both the state lab and to the mayo clinic lab, both labs are taking about 3-4 days to get results back.
- What happens when the results come back? If the result is negative a nurse or your provider will call you. If it is positive public health and your provider will contact you.
- Should I wear a mask when going out in public?The CDC is recommending that people wear cloth face covering in public when it is hard to social distance, such as grocery stores and pharmacies. This does not prevent you from getting the virus but it does help slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not have symptoms from transmitting the virus.
- What is the hospital doing to prepare for an outbreak of Covid-19 in Weston County? We are working closely with Public Health, Emergency Management, first responders, and the Regional Health Coalition, which includes Sheridan, Campbell, Crook and part of Johnson County. Our management team has a daily huddle to go over bed availability, test results, supplies (PPE and medications), staffing (are any of our staff sick), and any new guidelines coming from the State Department of Health or the CDC. We have implemented parts our Emergency Plan, all hospitals and nursing homes are required to have Emergency Plans per CMS and the state, which are reviewed annually.
- Do we have a surge plan? We do have a surge plan if we were to have an influx of patients needing hospitalization. The plan is split into 3 stages; stage 1 is the current situation, stage 2 is all 12 rooms are full, and stage 3 is if we have over 12 patients needing hospitalization. Stage 3 does include an additional location within the hospital for overflow patients to stay. Also, the Regional Health Coalitions are looking at field hospitals to be set up in each of the regions around the state, ours would be in Gillette. WCHS is a small facility and in the hospital we only have 12 rooms, 13 nurses, and 6 CNAs. Like many other small facilities we don’t keep patients here that require being on a ventilator for long periods of time. We do have two ventilators and will be working with both Gillette and Rapid City to send our ventilated patients there and they will send us patients that do not require ventilation.https://health.wyo.gov/publichealth/infectious-disease-epidemiology-unit/disease/novel-coronavirus/
- Recommendations from WCHS?Follow the state and CDC guidelines; wear a cloth mask when out in public, practice social distancing, wash your hands frequently, do not touch your face, and if you are sick stay home. Contact your provider or the ER if you have worsening fever, cough, sore throat and shortness of breath.
How many cases are in Wyoming? Has anyone tested positive in Weston County? What do I do if myself or a family member is having symptoms? Below you will find a link to helpful information from the Wyoming Department of Health website during the 2020 Pandemic. Information is also available by calling 2-1-1 or 1-888-425-7138.
Johns Hopkins experts in global public health, infectious disease, and emergency preparedness have been at the forefront of the international response to COVID-19.
This website is a resource to help advance the understanding of the virus, inform the public, and brief policymakers in order to guide a response, improve care, and save lives. The Coronavirus Resource Center has a COVID-19 Case Tracker with global and US maps as well as videos and live events. The latest cases and trends for each state is identified by detailed graphs. Clink the link below to go to the website.
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon’s up-to-date news on COVID-19. Several tabs direct you to specific information on Wyoming COVID-19 Information Page, Governor’s COVID-19 Orders and Directives, SBA Loan Program Information, and Wyoming Hunger Initiative COVID-19 Task Force. The link below will take you to the Governor’s Home Page.
This link will take you to the top United States Government websites with information on COVID-19. The page also includes an extensive list on what the Government is doing in response to the pandemic.
https://www.usa.gov/coronavirus/