2020 was not an easy year for anyone, especially those working in health care. Facing a global pandemic, the health care heroes at St. Joseph’s Medical Center served the community day in and day out, caring for 40 percent of all local COVID-19 patients. “We are beyond proud of our staff,” says Don Wiley, President and CEO of St. Joseph’s. “They have served our community with courage, compassion and skill during this pandemic, putting aside their own fears in order to put our patients first.”
The healthcare community has worked around-the-clock to combat COVID-19. But despite these challenging times, St. Joseph’s has celebrated many successes, both in and outside of the hospital. As a proud participant in the Mask On education campaign, St. Joseph’s aimed to encourage mask wearing throughout the community, and helped to provide 100,000 mask kits to those in need. In addition, the hospital awarded over $650,000 in grants to support COVID-19 relief efforts and programs addressing needs such as access to food, youth violence and obesity, and mental health services.
Inside the hospital, major milestones include processing over 90,000 COVID-19 tests, serving as a vaccination site for medical staff and other specialized groups, and safely discharging over 1,400 COVID-19 patients.
While the pandemic managed to stop many things, it did not deter the expansion of St. Joseph’s Graduate Medical Education program (GME), which has continued to bring quality doctors to the community through its growing list of residency programs. “Training new physicians at our hospital, while attracting established physicians and specialists to help educate them, will have lasting impacts on our community,” Wiley says. GME is also supporting the fight against COVID as physicians participate in research studies aimed at bettering COVID-19 treatments on a global scale.
Just as St. Joseph’s has supported the community during the pandemic, the community continues to support St. Joseph’s. The hospital has been showered with appreciation in the form of parades, inspirational messages, and generous donations. Most recently, those donations have been slated for purchasing pulse oximeters for patients who have tested positive for COVID-19, but are not ill enough to be hospitalized. This device allows for monitoring symptoms from home, helping individuals know when they might need to seek care at the hospital.
Join the Cause
If you want to be part of St. Joseph’s impact on the community, consider making a donation to St. Joseph’s Emergency Response fund. Visit StJosephsCares.org/Donate to learn more.
For More Information:
St. Joseph’s Medical Center
800 N. California St., Stockton
(209) 943-2000