“To coordinate a community-wide response to the many aspects of COVID-19, Logansport Memorial Hospital initiated a weekly Community Conference Call with state and local government representatives, other local organizations, and fellow non-profit partners to share updates about how the rapidly evolving global pandemic was affecting Cass County.
Participants dialed in virtually to convene on a conference line, and offered round-robin updates on what had been happening most recently. Each week, Logansport Memorial Hospital began by sharing the latest numbers on testing and reported results, as well as updates about the changes made to visitor restrictions, restricted access, and other relevant health information about symptom management and guidance for local employers who were monitoring the health of their workforce. Other agencies reported on the food and meals being served throughout the community, the financial assistance available to help families through difficult times with lay-offs or unemployment, and the challenges with communicating to the large immigrant population that we have in Cass County. Many of the ideas for translating information across the many flyers and documents being created came from the connections made and updates shared through these weekly calls.
These community calls served to connect multiple partners together so that we worked toward a common goal – giving Logansport Memorial Hospital patients and Cass County citizens what they needed, when they needed it most. It would have been difficult to identify and respond to the other community needs that go hand-in-hand with receiving necessary medical care, if we had not all been sharing and discussing those needs along the way. At Logansport Memorial Hospital, we believe that much of our success in responding to COVID-19 in our Cass County community came not only from our own preparedness, but from the coordinated preparedness and response that our community partners delivered with us as well. These community calls were so successful in this health crisis that the entire group voted to continue them bi-monthly as a check-in, so that we will still be prepared to respond to community needs as COVID-19 further evolves.”
– Logansport Memorial Hospital
