As your community hospitals, our No. 1 priority at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox and Amita Health Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet is to keep our patients and families, healthcare workers, and staff safe.

As you read and hear more about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in national and local media, we wanted to reassure you that we are closely monitoring the situation and stand ready to respond should patients present with COVID-19.

While COVID-19 itself is new, preparing for responses to disasters, including potential epidemics and pandemics (e.g., H1N1, Swine Flu, Ebola), is not new for our hospitals.

Emergency preparedness training is a year-round activity that is done at both of our hospitals, and we are working closely with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), and local public health departments to prepare for COVID-19. We are closely monitoring the situation, including following all updates and guidance from CDC and IDPH.

Although Silver Cross Hospital and Amita Health Saint Joseph Medical Center have no patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 to date, we are ready: we know how to isolate patients within our facilities and what services and equipment are needed; and we will contact our local and state Departments of Public Health to coordinate testing and the appropriate care.

What’s more, we continue to communicate important updates to our patients/families, healthcare workers, and staff promptly as needed. We are confident that we can continue to provide safe, effective, and an unrivaled healthcare experience, even in the face of an infectious diseases outbreak.

Our respective Infection Prevention and Emergency Preparedness teams have been working tirelessly over the last weeks to prepare and refine dedicated COVID-19 response plans.

Much is still unknown about COVID-19, but a clearer picture is emerging, and hospitals like Silver Cross and Amita Health Saint Joseph are refining our responses regularly based on new information as it becomes available. As always, community health remains our top priority.

Sincerely,

Christopher Udovich, M.D. Gary Lipinski, M.D.

Chief Medical Officer Chief Medical Officer

Silver Cross Hospital Amita Health Saint Joseph Medical Center