Santiam Hospital emergency department medical director Dr. Steve Vets (center, back row, wearing glasses) posts with his federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team deployed to Omaha, Nebraska to care for patients under monitoring for coronavirus in February 2020. (Courtesy/Steve Vets)
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Two Santiam Hospital doctors guiding the hospital’d response to the COVID-19 pandemic will take questions from the public on Facebook Monday, March 30.
Dr. Steve Vets, emergency room medical director, and Dr. Janine Vansant, infectious disease director, will be live at 6:30 p.m. for a “virtual community forum” to share their expertise and answer questions. In the format, viewers can listen to the doctors’ presentation and type questions on the livestream which will be visible to all participants.
LINK: Facebook Q&A
Vets was involved in the U.S. response to the novel coronavirus in early February, before it was a topic of daily concern for most Americans.
READ: Santiam Hospital doctor reports back from caring for quarantined patients in Nebraska
He was part of a 16-person medical team sent to Nebraska to care for Diamond Princess cruise ship patients quarantined after being exposed to the virus on board. Though none of his patients fell ill with the virus, he said the experience shaped how he thought about the hospital’s response.
On March 5, he told Salem Reporter it was likely only a matter of time before people fell ill in the Salem area.
“The first cases we’re going to see are going to be mild cases so it’s easy to be lulled into a case of complacency and security,” he said. “It takes a while from people to transition from mild cases to severe cases. So maybe it’s already here.”
Marion County reported its first positive test for COVID-19 three days later. The county now has 123 patients who have tested positive for the virus, according to Monday’s report from the Oregon Health Authority.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander at [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
