Our hospital systems remain devoted to this community, and we are prepared to care for you and your loved ones if you need us, but we need your help.

“We are all in this together” has never been truer than it is right now in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. In the western Kentucky/southern Illinois region, this means a shared feeling of sacrifice, resilience and endurance. For the region’s major health care providers, it also means our commitment to work together to serve you – our community – and advance the care of all of our patients.

Our hospitals have also partnered with local and state health and emergency management departments to speak with one voice and to work as a unified team throughout this pandemic. Our strength is in our shared mission to protect lives, care for the stricken, and work together to face this virus using our best resources.

Our health care teams and administrations are working together. We are supporting one another so that we can protect you. We will remain steadfast in that commitment until this COVID-19 threat is eradicated.

We cannot do this alone. We need your help and cooperation. This pandemic is not a threat that can be solely tackled within the four walls of a hospital. Success is in our collective hands. If everyone follows these three simple steps, we will no doubt see a vast improvement in the number of COVID-19 diagnoses:

• Wear a mask
• Wash your hands frequently
• Distance yourself from others in public

By following these guidelines, our communities have the ability to make a tremendous impact on the progression of the virus. Our actions in the coming days and months will be critical in our efforts to minimize hospitalizations and return to our lives with friends and family.

We are far stronger working together as health partners and as a community than we could ever be alone.

Sincerely,

Mike Yungmann, President Mercy Health – Lourdes Hospital
Chris Roty, President Baptist Health Paducah
David Anderson, CEO Jackson Purchase Medical Center 
Jerry Penner, CEO Murray Calloway County Hospital
David Fuqua, CEO/Administrator Marshall County Hospital
John Sumner, CEO Trigg County Hospital                               
Dan Odegaard, CEO Caldwell Medical Center
Liz Snodgrass, CEO Livingston Hospital & Healthcare Services
Jon Gleason, CEO Crittenden Community Hospital
Rick Goins, CEO Massac Memorial Hospital
Lee Gentry, CEO Continue Care Hospital of Paducah
Jeremy Jeffrey, Mercy Regional EMS
Kent Koster, Purchase District Health Department
Billie Newbury, Preparedness Coordinator Region 1
Jerome Mansfield, McCracken County Kentucky Emergency Management Director
James Tolley, Interim Director Pennyrile District Health Department