The ThedaCare team has worked hard to prepare for and respond to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. The efforts of our team members and staff have truly been heroic, and we have been diligently focused on protecting the safety of our communities and minimizing the virus’s impact on our region. Much like health care systems across the country, ThedaCare has made necessary adjustments to operations and services to devote available resources to serve our communities and keep patients safe.

Because of the tireless work of our physicians, nurses, and other caregivers, we can safely manage our communities’ COVID-19 cases and are able to begin offering select services for illness and ongoing medical care. These services will be phased-in over time to prioritize patients with essential surgeries, as well as those in need of primary care and other specialties and diagnostics with a strong emphasis on virtual visits.

Many patients have waited to visit their doctor in recent weeks, and we are thoughtfully connecting with those patients who need us most and deferred services earlier this spring to ensure they are connected to the safe and essential care we are providing.

We understand patients may have questions about what care looks like in today’s evolving environment, and it’s important to know we have implemented extensive safeguards to ensure the safest care possible. As always, the safety of our patients and team members is our top priority. This means:

• Every effort will be made to continue isolating COVID-19 cases as we select procedures and services. We have designated specific care facilities to care for potential COVID-19 cases.
• Caregivers continue to use and have access to necessary supplies of proper PPE to ensure their safety and the safety of our patients.
• We continue to implement screenings and temperature checks as well as require masks for everyone who enters a ThedaCare facility.
• All surgery patients will be tested for COVID-19 prior to the procedure or before prep is started.
• Knowing that social distancing is proven to reduce the spread of infection, we continue to limit the number of visitors in our facilities. More information on our heightened visitor restrictions can be found here. Our team is also encouraged to practice social distancing and prevent exposure during off-hours to allow our team to safely care for patients.
• We are vastly increasing capacity of our video and virtual visits to complement our face-to-face care and enhance access for our community members to both Primary and Specialty care.

While we will begin resuming services, ThedaCare continues to be focused on delivering isolated COVID-19 care and remains prepared to treat COVID-19 patients today and in the future. If you are experiencing mild or moderate respiratory illness, such as fever, cough or shortness of breath, please call your primary care provider and wait for his or her instruction to determine appropriate care before visiting a clinic.

Reinstating services that had previously been suspended is a positive step forward, and we hope to resume even more services soon with the safety of our patients and team members as our primary focus. We are carefully working with and following all CMS, CDC and state and local health department protocols at all of our facilities. ThedaCare will quickly adjust as needed based on the spread of COVID-19 in our communities, PPE levels, new studies and guidelines. We will continue to keep our communities informed as we move forward.