69 Confirmed, Suspected Cases Of Coronavirus At Silver Cross

NEW LENOX, IL — State health officials said Illinois saw 1,346 new coronavirus cases and 80 more deaths on Wednesday, a slight uptick from Tuesday. As of 2:30 p.m., the state's coronavirus case count stood at 24,593, with 948 deaths attributable to COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

At Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, the hospital said as of April 15, it has 69 inpatients with known or suspected coronavirus. Of the 69 patients, 56 have tested positive for coronavirus and 13 are considered persons under investigation. All are being cared for in isolation.

The current April 15 case count is a decrease from cases on April 9. On April 9, the hospital had 78 patients being cared for in isolation rooms.

Silver Cross has produced several informational videos for the community about intensive care, emergency medical services, the hospital’s COVID-19 Command Center and more.

The hospital's command center, which is under the direction of Mary Bakken, Silver Cross Hospital Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, meets remotely, twice a day to discuss important issues that affect hospital procedures and care. According to the hospital, the command center team is comprised of 40 representatives from hospital departments involved in patient care and hospital operations.

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“The command center looks at everything through the lens of safety for patients, employees, medical staff and the community at large. We recognize Silver Cross Hospital is an important resource to the community not only for care, but for up-to-date information about this pandemic as well,” Bakken said in a release.

The command center serves as a platform to communicate effectively with hospital departments and mobilize resources quickly as new information is received, the hospital said. For example, the decision to restrict hospital visitors, postpone elective surgical procedures, begin universal masking of all staff and convert additional patient rooms to negative pressure rooms has all been in response to command center input and expertise.

“This is an all-hands-on-deck situation,” Colby added. “The command center allows us to make rapid and sometimes difficult decisions – always with the focus on safety.”

To view any of the videos, visit the hospital’s YouTube channel.

Read more:

• Illinois Coronavirus Update April 15: 23,247 Cases; 868 Deaths
• 'Temporary Morgue' For Will County Coronavirus Victims
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