With cases soaring, two-week freeze is necessary to preserve hospital capacity – Lake Oswego, Ore. – November 13, 2020 — Becky Hultberg, President and CEO of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, released the following statement on the Governor’s two-week freeze. “Community hospitals across Oregon have stepped up during the pandemic, and front-line health care workers have worked tirelessly to care for those who have fallen ill. With COVID-19 cases soaring across the state, it is imperative that we act now to preserve hospital capacity. We support the Governor’s two-week freeze on social gatherings and the three-state travel advisory announced by Oregon, Washington, and California. If we are not able to slow the spread of COVID-19 now, hospital capacity for all Oregonians could be threatened as COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to grow, jeopardizing the availability of care for us all. Cancer patients need treatments; those with injuries need physical rehabilitation; those in chronic pain need surgery. We urge the public to follow these new guidelines. We know it’s hard, eight months into the pandemic, to limit where we go and how we interact with friends and family. But these steps – combined with social distancing, hand washing, and face coverings when you must leave your home – are essential steps to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and bring it under control so we can bring normalcy back into our lives.”
