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Uniontown Hospital removes EMA trailer as county moves to Green Phase

06/08/2020
Uniontown Hospital Police Chief John Kaminsky (foreground) and Systems Analyst Guy Napolillo begin preparations to remove the Fayette Emergency Management Agency trailer outside the Emergency Department at Uniontown Hospital.

By the Herald-Standard

The trailer that’s been parked outside of the Uniontown Hospital Emergency Department to triage potential cases of COVID-19 has been removed.

Josh Krysak, hospital communications director, said officials felt comfortable removing it, noting the low number of new cases in Fayette County.

“It is a testament to how well the community has done to heed the recommendations, and do their best to mitigate COVID-19,” Krysak said.

Fayette Emergency Management Agency loaned the trailer to the hospital in March, giving health care providers a way to keep those who may have the virus away from other patients and medical personnel.

“With numbers really flatlined, it’s appropriate for it to go,” Krysak said.

The hospital’s remote testing site, a tent in the former Kmart parking lot in South Union Township, will also come down soon, he said. The site will offer testing this Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and from June 15-19, hours at the site will shift to 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Then, he said, the tent will be dismantled. Testing, however, will still be available at the hospital.

Krysak said about 2,000 were tested at the remote site and hundreds at the hospital itself, with the vast majority being negative. According to the state Department of Health, 95 Fayette residents have tested positive for the virus.

He said community support made the remote testing area possible, thanking South Union Township supervisors and property owner Jason Foster for their cooperation.

Krysak said hospital officials are “cautiously optimistic” that the worst of the virus is behind us, but continue to urge people to take precautions when they can.

Hospital CEO Steve Handy said the hospital remains committed to serving local needs.

“We are safe. We are here. And we are ready to make a healthy difference for our community,” Handy said.

The hospital is also reviewing it visitation policy. Currently, visitors are only allowed in end-of-life situations, and one visitor is being permitted with a patient being treated in the emergency room.

Starting Monday, Krysak said, patients coming to the facility for surgical procedures can also bring one person in with them. That person, like all visitors to the hospital, will be screened before they are allowed to come in.

“We’ve started there and over the coming weeks, we anticipate – as long as things continue to go well – to lift those restrictions even further,” Krysak said.