Thank you for giving us a fighting chance.

We all find solace in the mountains—that’s why we’ve made our lives here, why we vacation here, and why we love it here. On behalf of our entire community, we are so incredibly grateful to you for staying home during the challenging first weeks of the COVID pandemic.

Because of your selflessness, and your committed regard for the greater good, you flattened the curve, and gave Mammoth Hospital the time needed to prepare. And prepare we did. We transformed our small critical access hospital into a facility ready to care for patients with COVID-19. Because you sheltered in place, physical distanced, maintained hygiene, and covered up, over the past seven weeks we were able accomplish all the following:

· The surge capacity of the hospital has increased from 17 to 40+ patients.

· ICU bed capacity has increased from 2 to 6 ventilated patients.

· The inventory of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is at 60 days on hand during a surge.

· COVID positive and negative zones have been established.

· Rapid in-house testing is now in place.

· Labor pools and cross training of staff are in place to be surge-ready.

· All hospital personnel and visitors are required to wear facial coverings.

· There is daily screening and temperature checks for all hospital staff and visitors.

· There is staff housing available and patient overflow capacity.

· Patients can be tested and cared for at home.

· Work from home policies and processes limit the number of employees in the hospital.

· A telemedicine program allows patients to access care from home.

Please know as much as we want you back here with us for a beautiful Sierra summer, we are still following Governor Gavin Newsom’s directives, and will not move ahead of the state’s directives.

We ask that you please continue to be patient with us. Understand that our greatest objective is avoiding a surge of patients. As Mono County reopens, things will look different. We will still need to physically distance. We will all need to be patient, slow down, and exercise kindness with strangers, neighbors, and the workers who serve us. We will all be required to wear face coverings while out in public. This is new territory for all of us, but we are adaptable—it is one of our greatest strengths as human beings.

We stand at the ready, as excited as you are to get back to the places we know and love, and to know the mountains will be calling again. Take heart—we will be together again soon.

Wash. Cover. Distance. Be kind to one another.

In solidarity,

Mammoth Hospital | Mono County Public Health | Mono County | Town of Mammoth Lakes

Mammoth Lakes Police Department | Mammoth Lakes Fire Department | Mono County Sheriff