Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
CLOVIS — Plains Regional Medical Center Administrator Drew Dostal, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, provides weekly updates to The News.
Here are parts of a Q&A conducted Monday with Dostal:
Q: How many COVID-19 patients are in PRMC as of Monday?
A: Five. None in the Intensive Care Unit.
Q: Have any additional PRMC employees tested positive for COVID-19? If so, do you believe the source to be outside of the hospital?
A: No additional employees. We believe the cases we’ve tracked down are from sources outside the hospital.
Q: On Thursday, the state reinstated some lockdown procedures, including ending indoor dining again. Are there any PRMC policies that are changing relative to the new state orders?
A: We’re going to honor what the state has told us, so there’s no dining in our cafeteria. But other than that, no real policy changes.
Q: This probably goes outside of PRMC, but the newest public health order requires people wear face coverings while exercising. For people who aren’t used to exercising with a mask, are there any recommendations you could provide?
A: The standard ones would apply. Go slow at first, make sure you’re getting used to the thing as you build tolerance. You may also need to bring extra masks because as you get sweaty they lose effectiveness. Also, stay hydrated.
Q: You announced at a city commission meeting July 2 you would be leaving PRMC this month. What are your future plans?
A: I’m going to be taking on the role of Northwest regional market leader for Spectrum Health in Michigan.
Q: Who will be taking your place on an interim basis?
A: We have not identified the interim person as of yet.
Q: You indicated to the commission you were leaving for social reasons. Can you elaborate?
A: I just want to make sure I’m closer to family. We have aging family, and some healthcare issues we need to address. It’s been incredible being in Clovis these last 10 months. I wish I could load them all up and take them back to Michigan with me. The pandemic really illustrated the difficulties in getting back when I need to.
— Compiled by Editor Kevin Wilson
