A Message From Enloe’s CEO

CHICO, Calif., June 29, 2021 – Our region has seen its share of disasters, but no matter what the challenge, our local health system and our community have consistently demonstrated unmatched resiliency and effectiveness in their response. How we have weathered the current COVID-19 pandemic is no exception.

Since the first COVID case was detected over a year and a half ago, community collaboration, support and leadership has been nothing short of incredible. And we cannot put a price on the sacrifice made by those on the frontlines of the pandemic who have literally risked their lives and the lives of their families to take care of us.

A Collaborative Approach

Our collaborations started early in the spring of 2020, in the wake of severe shortages of lab testing materials and protective supplies, such as gloves and face masks and shields. While Sierra Nevada Brewery Co. was helping us develop lab testing transport medium, Fifth Sun was using its connections in China to secure hundreds of thousands of protective ear loop masks.

"With the help of Butte County Public Health, Chico Sports Club, and the quick thinking and flexibility of our Engineering team and many of our clinical caregivers, we were able to set up this inpatient COVID treatment center in less than 48 hours.”

Chico State used its engineering capabilities to make face shields, and numerous other organizations, such as Lulus, Home Depot, Build.com, the North Valley Animal Disaster Group, medical and dental offices, and a whole host of churches, schools, and individuals, sacrificed their own safety to donate what supplies they had for use in our Emergency department and COVID units. In addition, area volunteers hand-stitched thousands of cloth masks to aid in the effort.

Then there was the deployment of a 125-bed federal medical station, which was set up at our inpatient rehabilitation center on East Avenue. With the help of Butte County Public Health, Chico Sports Club, and the quick thinking and flexibility of our Engineering team and many of our clinical caregivers, we were able to set up this inpatient COVID treatment center in less than 48 hours, providing our region with an exceptional resource in the event of a major surge of infections.

A New Treatment & Vaccines

When monoclonal antibody treatments became available to treat high-risk COVID-19 patients, Enloe swiftly provided the treatment, preventing many hospitalizations. And when the COVID-19 vaccine was approved for use, Meriam Park donated the clinic space as Enloe took the lead on ensuring every person in Butte County who wanted a COVID-19 vaccine was able to receive it. Hundreds of volunteers assisted in making our clinic one of the most effective and productive in the state.

"Within weeks, we were able to vaccinate thousands of high-risk individuals, preventing hundreds of hospital admissions and saving scores of lives.”

Within weeks, we were able to vaccinate thousands of high-risk individuals, preventing hundreds of hospital admissions and saving scores of lives. Incredibly, the Enloe Foundation was able to raise over $1.5 million to support this effort, thanks in no small part to Ken Grossman and Katie Gonser, who challenged area businesses to match their initial $750,000 gift. Numerous organizations answered the call, including Golden Valley Bank, Fifth Sun, Tri Counties Bank and many more. We are so thankful for their generous donations.

As a result of this tremendous community support, the heroics of too many caregivers to mention and our faithful adherence to infection prevention guidelines, our regional response to the pandemic has been remarkably effective. Enloe Medical Center is extremely proud of its employees, volunteers and medical staff, proud to be a member of this great community, and will be ever grateful for the support we received.

Let’s Keep Working Together

We still have work to do. We hope if you haven’t yet received your vaccine you will do so as soon as possible. And until the virus is firmly behind us, it will be important that we continue to monitor infection rates and follow appropriate and reasonable guidelines to stay safe from infection.

But with your help, we are seeing light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. Whatever happens next, you can rest assured your community and your local health services stand ready to meet the challenge.