Patient hospitalized with COVID-19

Seek medical help if you’re not feeling well

Sweetwater County’s 11th confirmed case of COVID-19 is hospitalized at Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County.

The Rock Springs woman in her 50s was notified Wednesday, April 29, 2020, she has contracted the virus. She was admitted to the hospital today, where she remains in stable condition.

Sweetwater County Public Health personnel began contact tracing immediately and have contacted all of the woman’s close contacts, said Kim Lionberger, Public Health Director. She urged anyone in the community who isn’t feeling well to seek medical care or get tested for COVID-19.

“We had hoped that this day wouldn’t come,” said Kim White, MHSC Incident Commander. “However, now that it is here, MHSC is prepared.”

Dr. Melinda Poyer, MHSC Chief Medical Officer, reiterated those thoughts.

“We have been preparing for inpatient COVID patients for nearly two months with Incident Command,” Poyer said. “MHSC is fully prepared to safely care for our community.”

“Our staff is trained on the effects of this illness, and have been equipped with the personal protective equipment needed to keep our patients as well as our staff safe,” White said.

“We have established a special COVID unit, where patients who are COVID positive will be treated and isolated from our other non-COVID patients,” White explained. “We have worked diligently to ensure that we have the supplies necessary to take care of as many COVID patients as possible. We have also been working closely with other healthcare providers in the area to expand our care abilities.”

Community spread remains a concern, said Dr. Jean Stachon, Sweetwater County Health Officer.

As the state and counties begin to ease restrictions, healthcare providers say it is more important than ever to remain vigilant in the fight against the spread of COVID-19. Many healthcare agencies and businesses will continue to require some type of face covering moving forward. Please, respect their wishes.

To stop community spread, it’s important to stay 6-feet away from people you are not housed with, send only one person to the grocery story, and stay home if possible. Don’t touch your T-zone – eyes, nose and mouth. Cover your cough – cough and sneeze into your sleeve or a tissue, NOT in your hands. Wear a face covering.

“As a facility and staff, MHSC has come together as a team, and will do everything in its power to help our community through this pandemic,” White said.

If you have questions about travel, lodging, food or other issues related to COVID-19, call Sweetwater311 at 307-212-5440. If you have a temperature of 100 or greater or a cough, call your provider, call the MHSC COVID-19 Nurse Triage Line at 307-522-8523, or call Castle Rock Medical Center at 307-872-4500 to discuss COVID-19 symptoms.

More health and community updates can be found at sweetwatermemorial.com, sweetwater311.org, covid19.wyo.gov, and cdc.gov.