Adventist Health St. Helena celebrates hospital reopening after being temporarily closed due to the Glass Fire.

ST. HELENA, CA– December 8, 2020 – Adventist Health St. Helena invites the community to join their virtual celebration December 8 at 10:00 a.m. to commemorate the reopening of the hospital after being temporarily closed for more than two months, following the devastation caused the Glass Fire.

The virtual event will include remarks from Steven Herber, MD, president and Timothy Lyons, MD, chief medical officer and Debby Hobbs, MD, an admitting hospitalist and community member. The presentations will include a glimpse into who was behind the reopening efforts and how Adventist Health is prepared to face COVID-19. This will be followed by celebratory events on the campus to honor the team and recognize the power of everyone working together towards the goal of reopening and resuming patient care.

Dr. Herber commented how important it is for doctors, nurses and staff to celebrate this milestone, because everyone worked so hard and they were motivated by one common goal – getting back to our patients. “After thousands of hours of planning, hard work and a long arduous process that would make even the most patient person take a deep breath, this team deserves be recognized. It feels great knowing that tomorrow the staff will be back together to stand ready to help our patients and community, especially during this critical time as we all face the crisis of COVID-19.”

Adventist Health St. Helena Operations Executive Hoda Assadian added that this process was all consuming. “Our teams have been working 24/7 to make the necessary repairs to our systems, deep cleaning the entire facility from top to bottom, replacing all supplies, flushing out the water system and removing debris. Getting all of the intricate systems and equipment cleaned, tested, retested and calibrated were onerous tasks critical to the reopening plan. We’re happy to report this hospital is now better than ever, and it’s been certified by officials that we’re safe and ready to reopen tomorrow at 7 a.m.,” said Hoda Assadian, operations executive. “

Despite the resources required to reopen the hospital, Adventist Health hasn’t stopped there. Their team has been been busy taking care of the needs of the community with its clinics in Napa, St. Helena and Calistoga and its mobile health program. Mobi, the mobile health unit provides access to primary care and COVID-19 testing via a mobile health van that travels to various locations throughout Napa Valley. Information about the mobile unit’s schedule is available at facebook.com/ahsthelena or facebook.com/sthelenahospitalfoundation.

Adventist Health also launched free counseling to help residents deal with stress of COVID-19 and the wildfire. Together with SyncTALK, by Sychronous Health, the counseling service connects participants to a licensed counselor who can help residents deal with the stress and anxiety they might be feeling. The offer includes four free sessions, each 30 minutes long, and they’re held virtually via phone or video. Residents interested in receiving this care can visit Sync.health/napa-valley for more information or to schedule a session.

The virtual reopening celebration is scheduled on December 8 from 10 to 10:30 a.m. To join, simply go to AdventistHealth.org/Celebrate. Look out for the recorded event later in the day via Facebook.com/ahsthelena.
 

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Adventist Health St. Helena is part of Adventist Health, a faith-based, nonprofit integrated health system serving more than 80 communities on the West Coast and Hawaii. Founded on Seventh-day Adventist heritage and values, Adventist Health provides care in hospitals, clinics, home care agencies, hospice agencies and joint-venture retirement centers in both rural and urban communities. Our compassionate and talented team of 37,000 includes associates, medical staff physicians, allied health professionals and volunteers driven in pursuit of one mission: living God's love by inspiring health, wholeness and hope. Together, we are transforming the American healthcare experience with an innovative, yet timeless, whole-person focus on physical, mental, spiritual and social healing.