Critical Polk County Hospital Public Announcement

November 9, 2020

An Important Message to Our Community

We are coming together today to plea to our community to please help in our fight against COVID-19.

Today, we set a new record for COVID-19 positive inpatients with 191. This is the highest we have been throughout the pandemic. The situation is very real and urgent. We need your help immediately to change the trajectory of this disease and the impact we are feeling in our community.

We continue to work closely together do the best we can care to for patients. But right now, we are facing bed shortages and staffing shortages.
Polk County Health Department's communicable disease team is identifying cluster events with multiple COVID-19 contacts, which results in additional exposures and more positive cases. COVID-19 positive cases are rapidly increasing.
We are at a critical point in our community and our state’s fight against COVID-19. We need to flatten the curve of increased cases to not overwhelm, not only our healthcare system, but our skilled nursing facilities and our public health system.
Please protect your family, your community, and your local health care workers by:

Wearing a mask. And if you are a business owner, please require patrons of your business to wear a mask while in your establishment.
Washing your hands frequently or use hand sanitizer when hand washing isn’t an option.
Staying home when you are sick.
Practicing social distancing. Limit your groups to less than 10 people. If your group is larger than 10 people, require that all parties wear a mask, including gatherings like weddings and funerals.
And getting your flu shot.

Please consider the safety and well-being of your friends and family, especially as the holidays are approaching. If we work together, we can reduce the COVID positivity numbers.

Signed by our CEOS –

David Stark, UnityPoint Health - Des Moines

Karl Keeler, MercyOne - Des Moines

Jody Jenner, Broadlawns Medical Center