Our response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the first quarter

On April 28, we released our first quarter earnings results. Normally, I would take this time to discuss those results, but as we know, there’s nothing normal about these times. 

While we started January and February strong, our business began experiencing a significant impact from the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March. I’d like to focus on our response to this crisis. 

The following are some of the measures we’ve implemented to protect both our patients and employees and other ways we’re responding and adjusting to the pandemic.

The safety of our patients and employees is our top priority 

We have taken numerous steps to ensure the wellbeing of our patients and employees. We created COVID-19 Task Forces to help our business segments stay up to speed on the latest information from state and federal resources. A primary focus of the Task Forces is the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) for our patients and employees. Our supply chain teams are working around the clock to secure PPE and other medical supplies. 

In addition to securing PPE, we’re also restricting hospital visitors to primary caregivers, who require training in order to safely discharge a patient home, and screening anyone who enters our hospitals—including employees, physicians and all essential vendors. We’re also following the CDC’s guidelines for social distancing whenever possible. 

In the home setting, we’ve implemented self-screening protocols and are performing pre-visit telephone calls to assess risk factors prior to sending our clinical staff into a home. Learn more about the safety precautions we’ve implemented on our COVID-19 resource hub.

Legislative and regulatory relief is allowing us more flexibility

Legislative and regulatory relief from the federal government, HHS and CMS have also given our hospitals and agencies the types of enhanced flexibilities they need to care for our patients and assist acute care hospitals in maintaining hospital capacity in the current environment.

Encompass Health is a resilient company

I cannot emphasize how much we value and appreciate the efforts of our teams in providing excellent care to our patients and contributing to our nation’s wellbeing. 

Our operating environment continues to change rapidly along with the COVID-19 pandemic and each market’s response to it. A constant among all this change is the confidence we have in the prospects of both of our business segments based on the increasing demands for the services we provide to an aging population. 

Encompass Health is a resilient company, and our foundation is our people. Whether a frontline clinician providing patient care or someone who serves in a support function currently working from home, I am thankful for all of our employees for what they are doing in this time. 

The content of this site is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding any medical conditions or treatments.