Floyd has taken enhanced steps to ensure the continuation of providing quality, safe care in a timely manner for the community it serves.

In the days and weeks beyond the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, patients receiving care from Floyd’s health care facilities have every reason to feel safe and confident about the services they are receiving, said Dr. Sheila Bennett, Executive Vice President and Chief of Patient Services.

With safety measures and screenings in place at all locations, Floyd is again scheduling outpatient appointments and surgical procedures. Now is the time to seek care if you have hesitated because of COVID-19.

“Whether you are injured or feeling sick, need to rehab an injury, or it is time for your annual mammogram, you can rest assured that we are going well beyond expectations to keep our patients, their loved ones and our caregivers safe,” Bennett said. “The hazards associated with not receiving treatment when you need it are significant and dangerous.”

Floyd’s Safe Care initiative to move forward is in step with best practices at Atrium Health with whom Floyd announced a combination last fall, said Floyd President and CEO Kurt Stuenkel.

Although that relationship has not yet been given final approval by state and federal officials, both health care organizations have already begun sharing knowledge and resources. Atrium Health includes more than 40 hospitals and 900 care locations ranging from doctors’ offices to behavioral health centers to nursing homes.

“I am proud of the way Floyd mobilized effectively in response to COVID-19 in our community,” Stuenkel said. “We are now focused on leading the way forward in providing the safe, effective care that our patients have come to expect.”

Floyd has implemented effective precautions so that patients can feel safe and secure:

• COVID-19 screenings – All patients are screened before their visit and rescreened upon entering any Floyd facility. Every employee is screened when he or she arrives at work every day.

• COVID-19 testing – Surgery patients will receive a test as part of their pre-evaluation assessment. 

• Separate treatment areas – Floyd Primary Care and Urgent Care locations are protecting patients with dedicated spaces for patients experiencing respiratory symptoms.

• Our hospitals, Floyd Medical Center, Polk Medical Center and Cherokee Medical Center, are providing care for COVID-19-positive patients and symptomatic patients in a quarantined area with negative pressure rooms. These special rooms ensure that air from rooms with patients being treated with an infectious disease is not shared into other areas of the hospital.

• Clean facilities – We employ enhanced cleaning protocols at each Floyd location.

• Masks - All Floyd staff are required to wear masks. Patients and visitors are asked to wear a mask while undergoing care or treatment at our facilities.

• Visitor restrictions – We continue to restrict visitation.  

“Our patients deserve to feel safe and secure, and our community can rest assured that Floyd stands ready to deliver quality care and peace of mind,” Stuenkel said.