Next step toward normalcy: Get vaccinated

This month marks a year since Las Vegas treated its first confirmed COVID-19 case. Many of us know someone who has been infected or been infected ourselves; we’ve masked up, worked from home and socially distanced to protect our friends and family. Some of us have experienced significant loss. Our community certainly has. It has been a stressful time, worrying about our health and the health of our loved ones, and we’ve relied on one another to get through this.

As hospital leaders, we’ve been challenged like never before. Throughout this crisis, we’ve seen local heroes, including hospital workers, doctors, nurses and others serving on the frontlines, give it their all – putting in countless hours with incredible dedication to offer every patient both compassion and a fighting chance.

When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, we relied on our years of experience to offer solutions that would keep the Las Vegas community safe.

This included canceling nonessential surgeries to provide more beds, supplies and personnel to treat patients infected with COVID19, providing personal protective equipment to our employees, reducing entry to essential employees only, complying with strict screening and universal masking protocols as outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and providing COVID-19 testing for our employees.

Even when many hospitals reached more than 100% ICU capacity during a national nursing shortage, we updated and implemented our existing crisis surge plans and repurposed other spaces while keeping all of our patients safe, providing high-quality care for an unknown influx of patients over an unknown period of time.

Our hospitals have worked as quickly as possible to immunize our frontline workers to keep our colleagues safe as they continue to care for our patients. As COVID-19 trends decline and the vaccines become available to more members of our communities, we remain optimistic we can achieve herd immunity and put COVID19 behind us as soon as possible.

It has been a challenging year, no doubt. Over the past 12 months, our hospitals throughout Clark County cared for nearly 15,000 COVID-19 patients, while also treating thousands of nonCOVID-19 patients.

Over this past year, we have learned so much in treating our patients, such as placing them on their stomachs to help with breathing and a variety of treatments, including Remdesivir. We also took part in a national study on the effectiveness of convalescent plasma therapy to treat COVID-19 patients. Some of our hospitals were among the first in the country to introduce monoclonal antibody treatments to Las Vegas that have helped prevent serious illness in more than 1,000 high-risk COVID-19 patients.

With every challenge we encountered, we responded quickly and safely so we could continue to provide the best care to our patients. We could not have done this without our passionate employees. All of our colleagues, from the doctors and nurses to the custodial and administrative staff, are our most important resources. Hospital leaders have not forgotten their sacrifices and have worked hard to keep them safe while they keep you safe.

As we continue to do our part, we need you to continue to do yours as well. Many of you have done so much already, but the best way for us to get Las Vegas back to normal with a healthy economy is for everyone to get vaccinated. You will not just be protecting yourself, but also your family, your neighbors and all the frontline and hospital workers who have been working to keep the community safe throughout the pandemic.

We are honored to have served our Southern Nevada neighbors during one of the most severe public health crises the world has ever experienced. We thank you for placing your trust in our hospitals and supporting us throughout this difficult year. Soon, hopefully, we can put COVID-19 behind us. Whether it’s treating a serious illness or celebrating the joy of new life, we promise to continue placing our patients’ needs first, as always.

Sincerely,

Todd Sklamberg, CEO, Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, Sunrise Children’s Hospital

Karla J. Perez, regional vice president Acute Care Division, Valley Health System Mason Van Houweling, CEO, University Medical Center of Southern Nevada Lawrence Barnard, president/CEO, Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican, Siena and Rose de Lima campuses

Vincenzo “Vince” Variale, CEO, North Vista Hospital

Leonard Freehof, CEO, Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center

Robert Freymuller, CEO, Summerlin Hospital Medical Center

Sam Kaufman, CEO, Henderson Hospital Medical Center

Christopher Loftus, CEO, Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center

Alexis Mussi, CEO, Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center

Sajit Pullarkat, CEO/managing director, Centennial Hills Hospital Medical Center Kimberly Shaw, president/CEO, Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican, San Martín Campus

Julie Taylor, CEO, MountainView Hospital Claude Wise, CEO, Valley Hospital Medical Center