July 17, 2020 – Lakes Regional Healthcare Foundation recently received a gift of $10,000 from Avangrid Renewables in Lake Park, Iowa for Lakes Regional Healthcare’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Everyone has been affected in some way by the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve appreciated what Lakes Regional Healthcare has done to care for patients and keep everyone else educated and prevent its spread as much as possible,” said Michael Hesse, Site Supervisor of Avangrid Renewables’ Flying Cloud Wind Farm. “It was important for us to help in this response as well, and we are proud to be able to help patients and the community now and into the future.”
The funds will likely be used in one of two ways. First, it will allow Lakes Regional Healthcare to have additional negative pressure rooms for patients with infectious diseases. Negative pressure rooms take air that is in the room – air that has viruses and other infectious germs – and release it outside through a HEPA filter and replace the room with new, clean air. Currently one room within the hospital is designed specifically for this purpose with others having been retrofitted for needed temporary use. Avangrid Renewables’ gift will allow Lakes Regional Healthcare to purchase portable negative pressure machines to modify existing patient rooms into negative pressure rooms to accommodate more patients with various infectious diseases, including COVID-19.
The second alternative would allow thermal scanning of staff, patients, and visitors at Lakes Regional Healthcare’s campus upon arrival. Since the pandemic began, at least two hospital staff members have been at each of the main entrances to assess those that enter. This was not a problem when the hospital’s volume decreased significantly during the voluntary shut down of hospital services due to COVID-19. However, in the last few weeks, volume has increased and staff are not as available to leave their regular positions to assess people at the door. In addition, volunteers are also not yet back at the hospital to help. Lakes Regional Healthcare will be assessing people coming onto their campus for quite some time and automated thermal scanning devices will scan a person’s temperature as they enter the building. This will allow the hospital to have only one instead of two staff members at each entrance to do assessments and ensure the hospital’s campus is a healthy and safe place for people to work, receive care, and visit.
Lakes Regional Healthcare Foundation Executive Director Sonja Hamm said, “We are so grateful for Avangrid Renewables’ generosity in providing tools that will assist us in serving our patients. When we work together as a community, the result is impactful and we appreciate Avangrid Renewables’ responsiveness to a local need.”
Lakes Regional Healthcare Foundation was organized exclusively for the purpose of supporting and benefiting Lakes Regional Healthcare and the expansion and improvement of healthcare services to the area. Those interested in information about donating to Lakes Regional Healthcare Foundation are encouraged to call Sonja Hamm at 712-336-8791 or visit www.lakeshealth.org.
