Holy Rosary & St. Vincent Partner to Ensure Normal Operations Amid Boil Water Advisory; Bottled Water Provided for Community Members in Need
During the week–long boil water advisory for the Miles City community, Holy Rosary Healthcare maintained normal operations at the hospital and clinic, while also supporting community members in need.
Holy Rosary was able to maintain normal operations by partnering with St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings, for the sterilization processing of medical/surgical supplies and equipment that are critical for surgeries and procedures. The team at St. Vincent received the items in the evening, ensures they are cleaned, prepared, processed, and ready to be transported back to Holy Rosary for patient-use the next morning.
“This is a tremendous example of collaboration and what it means to be part of a health system that shares in our commitment to patient safety and keeping care close to home,” said Ben Uhlich, Holy Rosary Healthcare Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Operating Officer. “Being able to reach out to our colleagues at St. Vincent for support and consult with industry experts at Intermountain Health has allowed us to continue caring for our patients and providing them with the care they needed right here at Holy Rosary.”
Holy Rosary utilized bottled water for all patient, resident and caregiver needs outside of the OR.
“The safety of our patients, residents, and caregivers is our top priority,” shared Karen Costello, Holy Rosary Healthcare, President. “We plan for incidents of this nature, and we had sufficient bottled water on hand for patient and resident care, and our Holy Rosary caregivers' needs throughout the duration of the boil order.”
Additionally, Holy Rosary supported community efforts in providing for those in the community who needed access to bottled water or were unable to boil drinking water for themselves or their families. Holy Rosary, as part of Intermountain Health, provided several pallets of bottled water to support the community distribution site at Custer County Fire Department.
Holy Rosary also joined with the Meals on Wheels program to provide cases of bottled water to home-bound members of the community.
“We are so grateful to Holy Rosary Healthcare for your kind and caring consideration for our Meals on Wheels folks in Miles City,” shared Terry Hurick, Volunteer Delivery Coordinator with Miles City Meals on Wheels. “Holy Rosary’s effort to provide much-needed drinkable water for our clients was extremely appreciated.”
“In addition to caring for the health and wellness of our community members at our facility, we always strive to ensure we are caring for their needs outside of the hospital as well,” added Costello. “By delivering bottled water, we were able to provide relief to those in need, especially to the vulnerable members of our community.”
