Community Update Regarding COVID-19

Dear Lompoc Valley Community,

The administration and staff of Lompoc Valley Medical Center, Lompoc Health and the Comprehensive Care Center are thankful for the outpouring of support in recent days for our healthcare workers. Our highest priority is the health and safety of our community members, our medical staff and our employees.

We appreciate the cooperation and understanding of the public as our policies and actions adapt to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation, and to the guidance and recommendations of Federal, State, and County organizations, which are being updated often multiple times per day.

We are collaborating very closely with the other hospitals in Santa Barbara County, and with the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department. We are all regularly sharing best practices so that we can attack this situation in a unified and effective manner.

The types of issues we are dealing with on a daily basis include but are not limited to: maintaining adequate inventory of personal protective equipment, screening of patients and others who come to our medical facilities, implementing advanced infection prevention procedures to minimize risk, maintaining adequate clinical staffing, preparing to enact our Surge Plan should it become necessary, enacting protocols for employees and medical staff who have been potentially exposed to COVID-19, preparing for increased bed and ventilator demand, implementing virtual primary care visits for our Lompoc Health patients, and effectively managing the COVID-19 testing and result turnaround process.

Regarding COVID-19 testing, I would like to mention two things.

As of today, March 25, LVMC has collected 46 specimens in accordance with Public Health Department guidelines and sent them to an approved laboratory for testing. Of the 46 tests, 28 results have been received and they are all negative. There are 18 test results still pending. So, there are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at LVMC or in Lompoc as of this date.

You may have heard in the media that there will soon be a piece of laboratory equipment where the COVID-19 test can be performed on-site with a 45-minute turnaround time, instead of a 1-6 day turnaround time. LVMC already has that equipment, however, the vendor is just starting to make available the software and supplies needed to run the tests. We are doing everything we can to be up and running as soon as possible.

We understand that in these times, the public is seeking reliable and helpful information about the status of the disease. We want to assure you that our website,lompocvmc.com, is regularly updated with health information, changes in procedures at the hospital, Comprehensive Care Center, and Lompoc Health clinics, and includes links to the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and community resources.

We have received numerous offers of support from the community, including from those offering to provide hand-made protective masks. The first guidance received was that we could not use unapproved masks, but we are now looking at ways to potentially use them for alternative purposes. Whether or not we can ultimately use them, we sincerely appreciate the very kind gesture.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, or have an urgent need that is not being addressed and feel we might be able to help, please email me directly atpopkins@lompocvmc.com. I will make sure that you get a reply from either me or a member of our LVMC team.

Once again, thank you very much for your continued support. We are here for you.

Steve Popkin
Chief Executive Officer