Medical services edge back towards normal

The Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 officially ended on May 11, much to the relief of Crook County Medical District.

As the emergency period ended, so too did the requirements placed on the district, said CEO Micki Lyons last week.

However, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidance does still request certain measures be in place, she told the Board of Trustees, and COVID-19 itself has not gone away.

“They are still dribbling out guidance and we did just last week have five cases of COVID-19 in Long Term Care,” she said.

The district is in the process of updating its policy related to vaccines and masks, “Trying to get the wording of the policy to fit with what the CDC is advising as far as having a plan for mitigation and what to do in case of an outbreak. Hopefully we’ll have that rolled out next week.”

Meanwhile, Lyons said, “They still require you to have a plan in place for how you’re going to educate staff on the importance of vaccines, how you’re going to educate residents on the importance of vaccines,” she said.

On the other hand, “There is no vaccine mandate any more – that was a short-lived thing, apparently.”

Though COVID-19 is still circulating, CCMSD Board Chairman Mark Erickson commented that he feels we’ve reached the point now where it can be treated similarly to the flu.

“Exactly, that’s the thing,” responded Lyons. “It’s another virus, it’s probably going to have a season, it has a vaccine and so at some point we treat it like everything else.”