Nashville, Arkansas

Letter to the Community
From Howard Memorial Hospital

To the communities we serve:

Our hospital follows the Centers for Disease Control’s recommended infection prevention and control practices, including minimizing the chance for exposures, placing any patient with known or suspected COVID-19 in a separate location, providing personal protective equipment to health care personnel (gloves, gowns, masks and goggles), and educating staff, patients and the community on proper hand hygiene.

Our hospital is educating the public that the best way to prevent infection is by following the same preventive measures used during the normal cold and flu season. Wash hands regularly, cover coughs and sneezes, and stay home from work or school if you are sick to prevent the spread of infection.

Our hospital participates in emergency preparedness training year-round and is prepared to handle an influx of patients, should that occur. Hospitals communicate and coordinate directly with each other regularly and, in times of large-scale disasters.

Since, last week, Howard Memorial Hospital has been meeting internally and with local officials to ensure the safety of our patients, staff and community. Here are the things that we have in place at this time to address COVID-19:

• Screening everyone that enters into the facility via the ER and Main Lobby by asking three questions and obtaining a temperature. If a patient meets criteria for COVID-19, the patient is escorted outside to a separate area for medical screening exam.
• Using testing guidelines from the Health Department in Little Rock along with our private reference labs.
• All area ambulance services have been asked to screen patients over the phone before going into the home and transporting to the hospital and make the hospital aware of symptoms and screening results so proper precautions can be made prior to the patient arriving to the Emergency Department.
• Patients with respiratory symptoms have a mask placed and our staff will utilize the appropriate personal protective equipment before interacting with the patient.
• Our main lobby entrance is closed at 5:30pm Monday through Friday and reopens at 7am. On weekends, everyone must enter through the Emergency Department entrance. Staff are located in these areas to conduct screenings of everyone entering the facility.
• If we have a confirmed case in our area (Southwest Arkansas or Texarkana) we will move to the next stage for a much more aggressive lockdown of the facility.

As always, Howard Memorial Hospital is here for your healthcare needs. We continue to be prepared for any emergency, large or small. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,
Howard Memorial Hospital
Administration and Staff

UPDATE! Howard Street Bridge has been completed.

The Howard Street bridge (between Washington St. and the Bypass) is now open.