The IU Health hospital system has been preparing for weeks for a COVID-19 surge in Monroe County, a hospital official said during a Friday videoconference with city, county and university officials.
“We can’t be too careful,” said Brian Shockney, president of the IU Health South Central Region, which includes the Bloomington, Bedford and Paoli hospitals.
Shockney said the Bloomington hospital has been running surge scenarios for weeks to better prepare the hospitals’ staff members and respond to a variety of situations. One example they’ve been preparing for is an outbreak in a long-term care facility or nursing home, creating plans on transporting patients and testing employees and residents.
Bloomington’s outbreak status is about a week behind Indianapolis in terms of the number of confirmed cases and deaths, Shockney said, so the city and county have had more time to prepare and learn from the Indianapolis surge. IU Health hospital staff members were retrained in the last couple of weeks in emergency and hospital protocols.
Shockney also said there is no shortage of personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves at the hospitals. He said some rumors arose after a memo asking staff not to be careless with the protective equipment and to only dispose of them before the end of the shift if the equipment had become soiled.
