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Raising Our Voice for Racial Justice and Health Equity
June 1, 2020
CommonSpirit Health CEOs Lloyd H. Dean and Kevin E. Lofton shared the following message in response to protests that have followed the killing of George Floyd.
As the leaders of an organization whose reason for existence is health, we are part of a healing ministry of 150,000 people dedicated to human life, liberty and justice. We are united in a belief in the inherent dignity of all people. This transcends race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin or economic status.
As healers, we cannot watch the killing of George Floyd and the violence that has erupted during otherwise peaceful protests in response without deep sadness. However, having seen the impacts of systemic racism in healthcare for decades, these recent events sharpen our resolve to demand justice, truth and dignity for all.
In April, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust announced a multimillion-dollar effort to save the lives of COVID-19 patients and to protect the frontline healthcare workers caring for them. The grant funded the purchase of 11 LUCAS mechanical chest compression devices for CHI St. Alexius Health located in Bismarck, Garrison, Turtle Lake, Carrington, Dickinson, and Williston.
A total of $4,711,481 in funding will be distributed across five upper-midwestern states to pay for 367 LUCAS mechanical CPR devices to be deployed to hospitals caring for patients during the pandemic and beyond.
“These devices are vital because we don’t want frontline healthcare workers to choose between trying to save a patient or risking exposure to themselves and others to the Coronavirus,” said Walter Panzirer, a trustee for the Helmsley Charitable Trust. “LUCAS has been a proven, effective tool in saving lives during cardiac arrest, and having more of them available during this pandemic will save even more lives, including those of the doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers.”
CHI St. Alexius Health Resumes Elective Procedures and Services
CHI St. Alexius Health facilities have resumed some elective procedures and services. Like most hospitals, CHI St. Alexius Health stopped performing these procedures to prepare for a surge of COVID-19 patients and ensure we could provide these patients with the safest care. In taking the step to resume some procedures, CHI St. Alexius Health is using criteria that is based on guidance from the CDC, US Surgeon General, American Hospital Association, and the leading national associations of nurses, surgeons, and anesthesiologists.
Visit for more information about services, visitation restrictions or to learn about elective procedure/surgery precautions available in your community near you.
Williston Requests Visitors Wear Cloth Masks
Starting Wednesday, May 13, CHI St. Alexius Health Williston hospital and clinics ask individuals over the age of two entering their facilities to wear their own mask or face covering. This change will help conserve vital personal protective equipment for our local health care workforce and emergency responders.
Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) encourages the public to wear face coverings in places like clinics and hospitals, where it’s not always practical to maintain six feet of separation between individuals. It is important to also practice good hand hygiene to maintain safety. If the facemask is touched, adjusted or removed, hand hygiene should be performed.
CHI St. Alexius in Williston Adapting to COVID-19 With Virtual Visits
This is the hospital’s way to make things more convenient and safe for patients to still get high-quality care when they need it without leaving the comfort of their home.
All Zoom calls are secure and HIPAA compliant, so, all medical and personal information is safe.
“It’s a way to keep all of us safe and maintain the social distancing that we still talk about,” General Surgeon Dwayne Anderson said.
CHI St. Alexius Health Launches COVID-19 Help Line
Worried about COVID-19? CHI St. Alexius Health has established a COVID-19 Help Line to help provide information, answer questions and direct patients who may be at risk for the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The Help Line is a two-step process for those in the community who are concerned they may have COVID-19. They answer four short questions. Those answers will determine what happens next. They are either directed to more information, Virtual Care or our Help Line where our health care team will determine the next level of care.
Williston Launches Virtual Care Visits
CHI St. Alexius Health patients can now schedule virtual visits, via Zoom, with their primary and specialty care providers. This is a convenient and safe care option for patients to get high quality care when they need it, without leaving the comfort of their home. Functioning much like a Skype or Facetime call, a virtual visit uses live, secure, and HIPAA compliant video technology to allow patients to directly and securely see and speak with their physician through the convenience of their mobile device, tablet or computer.
Williston Enhances COVID-19 Precautions
CHI St. Alexius Health will implement a “no visitor” policy at the hospital and clinics beginning today, Friday, April 3. This move comes in response to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the region and state.
St. Alexius Health continues to adjust our approach and ensure that the safety of our visitors, patients, employees, and physicians, remains our highest priority and encourages visitors to remain closely connected to their loved ones through virtual means, including Skype, FaceTime and/or phone.
