Beginning Thursday, March 19, the Cass County Health System (CCHS) in Atlantic, will be implementing additional screening measures to protect the health of all patients and staff. All patients, visitors and vendors must enter through either the Main Entrance or the Emergency Department Entrance. Patients will be met by staff who will take their temperature (forehead) and ask a few questions about their recent travel and health.

Patients who are determined to be at increased risk for COVID-19 will be asked to wear a mask and directed to Suite C, which will be utilized only for COVID-19 patients. OB and other providers normally located in Suite C have been relocated to other suites.

Also beginning Thursday, March 19, Atlantic Medical Center hours will be 7 am – 7 pm Monday through Friday. The clinic will be open Saturday mornings for acute illnesses only (no wellness appointments) from 8 am – noon. Weekend care for patients needing to be screened for COVID-19 will be available from 10 am – 6 pm Saturdays and Sundays.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Food banks and pantries across the U.S. are scrambling to meet an expected surge in demand as the coronavirus causes many people to at least temporarily lose their jobs. This is happening even as older volunteers have been told to stay home. Also, calls for social distancing are complicating efforts to package and distribute food.

Pantries are shifting from letting people select items to giving them a sack filled with food to limit interaction and lessen the chance of passing along the virus. Officials say it makes them less efficient, but they don’t have better options.

(Update 11:43-a.m.) Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports three male students from the Clarinda Academy absconded from campus late this morning. A search was underway. Each of the students are about five-feet nine- to five-feet 11-inches tall. One of the teens is white. He was wearing blue jeans and white & black jacket. The others are African American males. One was wearing camouflage clothing, the other white pants with a white hoodie.

Two students who absconded from the Clarinda Academy Monday evening, meanwhile, are still at large. Chief Brothers said Tuesday, authorities believe both teens are now out of the area. Two vehicles were stolen from Clarinda overnight Monday into early Tuesday morning: A Chevrolet S10 pickup and a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Officials think the students took the vehicles.

The matter remains under investigation. Law enforcement in Iowa and surrounding states have been alerted to the missing students & the stolen vehicles. The Clarinda Academy has had a number of incidents where students escaped, or “Absconded” from the center for at-risk youth the first three months of this year. On Jan. 20th, two white 16-year old males escaped but were caught after the stolen vehicle they were in crashed, during a high-speed chase. Four male students also absconded from the facility on Feb. 24th. They were apprehended the same day.

The Covid-19 spread has prompted changes in the way some area first responders and law enforcement personnel will answer calls for service, in the interest of safety for first responders, law enforcement, and the public. Officials with Walnut Fire and Rescue, for instance, say “In the event of a an EMS call, an EMT will be the first to make contact with you. They will be wearing a face mask and eye protection, as well as any other PPE necessary. You will have a mask placed on you, and asked a series of questions laid out by the CDC for simple screening. Remember, cold like symptoms is not necessarily a reason to go to the ER. If transport is indeed needed, then the rest of the crew will be brought in to assist.”

The Creston Police Department and Union County Sheriff’s Office report that until March 31st, they are asking for the public’s help in reducing emergency services exposure, by answering questions posed by dispatchers when you call for those services, to determine the appropriate response. If you are ill or have other special circumstances that make you especially susceptible to infectious disease, please notify the dispatcher.

Union County authorities are echoing comments by the colleagues elsewhere in southwest Iowa, when they say there will be limited public access to the Law Enforcement Center from now until March 31st. You may call the LEC in Union County at 641-782-8402, for all routine calls for service. Anyone coming to the LEC will use the exterior intercom to talk with a dispatcher before being buzzed into the main building. All applicant finger printing, gun permit and other services as well as court-ordered jail time, are suspended.

Adair-Guthrie County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Kempf reports that as of 8-a.m., today (March 18th, 2020), the Adair County Hospital System and Guthrie County Hospital are only providing public health testing for the Corona Virus. The move is in line with the Iowa Department of Public Health’s guidelines for testing.

Patients will be eligible for testing if they meet one of the following criteria:

• Hospitalized patients with fever and respiratory failure and no alternate diagnosis
• Hospitalized older adults (>60 years of age) with fever or respiratory symptoms (cough, difficulty breathing) and chronic medical conditions (e.g., diabetes, heart disease, immunosuppressive medications, chronic lung disease, or chronic kidney disease)
• Any persons (including healthcare providers) with household contact with a laboratory confirmed case of COVID-19 in the 14 days prior to becoming ill with fever or respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, difficulty breathing)
• Any persons with a history of international travel to a country with a Level 3 CDC travel health warning (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/ index.html) or have taken an international cruise in the 14 days prior to becoming ill with fever and respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, difficulty breathing) and no alternate diagnosis.

There is currently no public testing being offered at either of the hospitals.  For more information please visit: www.adairguthriecountycovid.org

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Roman Catholic college in Iowa has suspended a longtime priest and faculty member after church officials received an allegation of sexual misconduct dating to the 1990s. St. Ambrose University in Davenport said that it was recently made aware of the complaint against the Rev. Robert “Bud” Grant and is taking the report seriously.

The school said the suspension would last until the outcome of an investigation by the Diocese of Des Moines, which ordained Grant as a priest in 1984. The Diocese of Davenport also said that Grant would also be temporarily removed as the sacramental minister at St. Andrew Church in Blue Grass.

Mills County Emergency Management officials have released recommendations for daycare and childcare providers, in light of State Regulations on gatherings:

Daycare and childcare providers must ensure that children be kept in groups of ten or fewer. Children shall not change from one group to another if more than one group of children is cared for in one facility. Groups must be kept in separate rooms and groups may not mix.

Highest Priority Childcare – In the Event That Daycare Is Limited:

There is a rapidly changing situation with COVID-19. If provision of daycare does become more limited, officials have priority or critical areas to address, as follows:

Mills County Public Health’s (MCPH) recommended priority group for childcare is intended to assist officials with providing essential functions within the healthcare delivery system, government and other critical infrastructure. It is understood that childcare plays a key role in allowing individuals to perform their duties and MCPH appreciates your cooperation.

GOAL: Ensure working parents serving in critical roles, defined below, who are impacted by school closures continue to have access to childcare.

ELIGIBILITY: For those parents with children 12-years-old and younger, this service will be limited to a two-parent household who both work, or single parent who works, in the following fields:

• All hospital staff;
• All healthcare providers in private practice and all direct care staff;
• Staff who provide critical government infrastructure: examples include social services, child protection services, public health officials tax collection, corrections and other public safety;
• Emergency responders;
• Food service workers, including grocery store staff and limited restaurant staff to include supporting take-away options;
• and Others as approved by the Mills County Public Health Administrator. 

The CAM School District’s Board of Education will hold a special meeting Thursday afternoon. The purpose of their 4:30-p.m. session at the CAM High School Superintendent’s Office, is to discuss and act on, paying hourly employees through the COVID-19 pandemic.