COVID-19 MEDIA UPDATES

Legacy Health today received a donation of personal protection equipment (PPE) from members of the local Chinese American community to help with the fight against COVID-19 here in Portland. The donation includes more than 10,000 pieces of PPE including surgical masks, N95 masks, KN95 masks, coveralls, and face shields. Several local Chinese American organizations worked together to fundraise for this donation, including Chinese Friendship Association of Portland, Intel Chinese Employee Network, United Chinese Association of Oregon, and the Chinese Women Friendship Association of Portland.

This PPE donation comes at a particularly important time as Legacy resumes offering elective procedures to patients in Oregon on May 1, 2020. In compliance with the safety criteria established by Gov. Kate Brown, Legacy is working to maintain an adequate supply of PPE to safely protect patients and staff.

“The support that the community has shown for our health care workers has been heartening,” said Lewis Low, M.D., senior vice president and chief medical officer, Legacy Health. “We are grateful to the Chinese American community for their contribution of personal protection equipment that will be used to help protect our patients and staff.”

“We are making this donation of personal protection equipment to Legacy Health to show love and support for their frontline health care workers,” said Iris Zhao, advisory board chair, Chinese Friendship Association of Portland. “In the middle of this global crisis, we saw an opportunity to be part of the solution locally.”

Legacy Health is pleased to announce that scheduled, elective medical procedures will begin taking place in its Oregon facilities on May 1, 2020. This is in accordance with the safety requirements for hospitals outlined by Gov. Kate Brown in her announcement lifting the ban on elective procedures. In Washington, Legacy is planning to begin offering elective procedures on May 18, 2020, when the Washington ban is scheduled to lift.

“As we begin providing elective procedures next week, it is with the utmost focus on safety for our patients and staff,” said Lewis Low, M.D., chief medical officer, Legacy Health. “We are grateful to the community for the part they are playing in reducing the spread of COVID-19 by following social distancing guidelines so we can get back to the work of providing the care our patients need.”

As scheduling of elective procedures begins, priority will be given to the most urgent cases. Patients will be contacted by their provider about scheduling their procedures.

Legacy Health has significantly ramped up capacity for COVID-19 testing, with the ability to run more than 650 tests per day. Testing is available through Legacy Medical Group clinics, Legacy-GoHealth Urgent Care centers and Legacy Health medical centers.

People will be tested based upon CDC guidelines. If it is determined that they need a test, based on a virtual visit through Legacy Medical Group or Legacy-GoHealth Urgent Care, multiple locations are available for testing throughout the Portland/Vancouver and Marion County communities.

• Legacy Medical Group patients who have been identified as needing testing by their provider will have their test administered at a drive-through testing site in Northwest Portland or in Woodburn. The average turn-around time on a COVID-19 test is 1-2 days.
• Legacy-GoHealth Urgent Care centers now offer the COVID-19 Rapid test with results in approximately 15 minutes. Patients are asked to first book a virtual visit with a Legacy–GoHealth Urgent Care provider at gohealthuc.com/legacy/virtual-visits to see if they qualify.
• At Legacy hospitals, in-patient and emergency department patients are being tested if it is requested by their provider or care team.

Legacy Medical Group and Legacy-GoHealth Urgent Care are also offering testing by appointment for community health care workers and first responders at all testing locations.

Legacy Health is a locally-owned health system that is pleased to purchase needed personal protection equipment (PPE) from local businesses and enterprises. “Our supply chain can respond to local requests from businesses or other enterprises that want to help and can quickly create and manufacture needed equipment,” said Ginger Henry, Legacy Health vice president, Supply Chain.

“We use products like facial shields and masks to keep our staff and patients safe, and during this pandemic, we need to replenish our supplies quickly, so having local options is a great help to us.”

Portland State University Center for Entrepreneurship 
Juan Barraza is the Director of Student Innovation at the Portland State University Center for Entrepreneurship. Barraza answered a call from Portland 3D Printing Lab to partner in producing facial shields for local hospitals. Legacy Health approved the prototype and placed a large order. Barraza organized volunteers, which included PSU engineering students, to produce the shields.

“Given my previous working relationship with Legacy as a medical interpreter, I reached out to some nurse friends, showed them the prototype, and the Legacy supply chain leaders approved,” says Barraza. “We’re working around the clock and using 136 3D printers spread out across the metro area. It is a logistics miracle given that all of this came together in less than a week.” Barraza will deliver 1,000 face shields to Legacy Health today at 3 p.m.

Portland Garment Factory
Britt Howard owns Portland Garment Factory, a local woman-owned business that produces garments and soft goods. “I heard about a potential shortage of PPE in the Portland area, so we began producing medical-grade barrier masks for healthcare workers.” Legacy Health approved PGF’s prototype and placed an order of 3,500 general use masks (non-COVID-19) a week to replenish stock at all Legacy hospitals. Howard made her first delivery to Legacy Health on Friday, April 3.
 
“When I started Portland Garment Factory in 2008, I had no idea that our most impactful project would be making PPE for healthcare professionals and their patients during a global pandemic,” said Howard. “PGF is honored to be able to use our expertise and capacity to provide a steady supply of high-quality barrier masks to Legacy Health during this critical time.” Howard made her first delivery to Legacy Health on Friday, April 3.

Henry added, “We hope our supply chain purchases are helping local businesses and partnerships stay viable during this challenging time. We are incredibly fortunate to get quality products produced and purchased in our community.”

A-dec and Legacy Health today announced an agreement for A-dec to manufacture and provide much needed supply of personal protection equipment (PPE) for Legacy hospitals and health care facilities.

“For more than 55 years, A-dec has lived by the principle of prioritizing concern for people above all else.” said Scott Parrish, A-dec President and CEO. “As a family-owned, Newberg manufacturer, A-dec is proud to partner with Legacy Health to bring much-needed PPE to Oregon’s health care workers. This is what we should be doing during this unprecedented time: working together to solve problems and take care of communities.”

A-dec has been working to develop PPE that are in critical demand by health care workers who continue to prepare to meet demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Legacy has a significant need for headband face shields and plastic shield coverings for their Powered Air Purifying Respirators (PAPR) helmets worn during procedures that provide protection against airborne illnesses.

“The safety and well-being of our patients, their families and our staff is Legacy’s top priority. We continue, along with other area hospitals, to pursue aggressive measures to secure PPE and are increasing our PPE stores, including partnering with local companies such as A-dec to replenish critically needed supplies,” said Lewis Low, M.D., senior vice president and chief medical officer for Legacy Health. “We are incredibly fortunate to have exceptional local manufacturers, like A-dec, aggressively pivoting business operations and innovating to help us support the health needs of our community during this pandemic.”

A-dec is a family-owned, privately held dental equipment manufacturing company with headquarters in Newberg, Oregon. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company launched programs and infection control resources to support healthcare professionals practicing dentistry during the crisis. The collaboration started when a Legacy Health nurse and an A-dec employee began discussing hospitals’ needs for PPE and A-dec’s manufacturing expertise. Following that conversation, A-dec employees worked around the clock over a weekend to develop prototypes of needed supplies. Over the course of just over a week, the company has converted several of their manufacturing areas to produce PPE for other health and emergency responder systems in the local area.

In their ongoing response to the COVID-19 health crisis, Legacy Health has a critical need for other personal protective equipment, as well as monetary contributions for a COVID-19 Response Fund. For information on how you can help, visit www.legacyhealthgiving.org/covid-19. 

A-dec reports considerable challenges with obtaining the quantities of raw materials needed to manufacture these products. The company is actively looking for partners in both the public and private sector to support their efforts during this global emergency.

An Oregon couple moved by the heroic work of frontline clinicians and health care workers during the COVID-19 crisis is giving $1.5 million each to Legacy Health and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU).

Mary and Ryan Finley say they hope their gifts will inspire others to join the fight against the deadly virus, which has infected hundreds of Oregonians across the state. The Finley family’s generosity comes at a time when hospitals and health care professionals are racing to keep up with growing demand for life-saving services.

“We love Portland and these gifts are from our family to our community and our health care teams risking their lives to be on the front lines,” Mary says. “We hope that if people are looking for a way to help Portland survive this crisis, they can join us and contribute to these COVID-19 response funds.”

“We are here to care for the communities we serve, and it is reassuring to know that the community is here for our providers and employees,” said Legacy Health President & CEO Kathryn Correia. “COVID-19 is placing an unprecedented strain on health care organizations. The Finley family’s gift will be used at Legacy to ensure our patients, providers and employees have the resources they need as we fight back this virus.”

The Finleys made their gifts through the RMF Foundation, which supports a variety of youth programs, low-income housing groups and organizations fighting hunger. Ryan Finley is the founder of SurveyMonkey.

“This gift from the Finley family is an incredible example of how our community has united to support COVID-19 efforts,” said OHSU President Danny Jacobs, M.D., M.P.H., FACS. “Philanthropy is critical during this health crisis, as it allows our health care systems to collaborate in assessing and prioritizing the greatest needs in managing the pandemic as it evolves.”

If you would like to join the Finleys in supporting frontline clinicians and health care workers, you can donate to Legacy Health by visiting www.legacyhealthgiving.org/COVID or OHSU by visiting www.onwardohsu.org/donate-covid19

Legacy Health has updated our visitor restrictions to ensure patient, visitor and staff safety.   
As of Wednesday March 25, 2020, Legacy will not allow hospital visitors. Some very specific exceptions include: 

One (1) designated visitor per patient, age 18 or older (who is cleared via screening protocol), may visit: 

• A child/baby
• A patient in labor or with a new baby
• During end-of-life care 

The designated visitor may not switch with another person. 

Please encourage visitors to connect with loved ones over the phone or through electronic communication. 

To protect the health of our community, Legacy Health is postponing all non-urgent, elective surgeries, procedures and well visits for a minimum of two weeks starting Wednesday, March 18, until further notice.

We are committed to doing everything possible to stop the spread of COVID-19 and protect our patients, employees, providers and communities. This action reduces the risk of exposure to COVID-19 and helps ensure we have the resources available to care for critically ill patients. 

To protect patients, staff, and the public, Legacy Health has issued strict visitor guidelines for all Legacy medical centers in Oregon and Washington, while COVID-19 is considered a public health threat. 

The general public (anyone who is not accompanying a patient) is not allowed within our Legacy medical centers until further notice, including our cafeterias, waiting rooms, and indoor and outdoor meeting spaces.  There are a few exceptions to the COVID-19 visitor guidelines; people are encouraged to see our Visitor Restrictions page for detailed information.

“It is important that we initiate these safeguards to protect our patients, staff and the public,” said Brian Terrett, director of public relations and community relations for Legacy Health. 

Legacy Health is currently evaluating a presumptive patient at Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center in Tualatin, Oregon with the potential for respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) coronavirus (COVID-19). We respect the privacy rights of our patients and will keep further details about individual care confidential.

The safety and well-being of our patients and staff is our top priority. Legacy Health is in regular contact with local public health departments, as well as the Oregon Health Authority and the Washington State Department of Health.