Officials with Providence St. Joseph’s Southern California Region hosted a virtual town hall Monday to talk about the latest information regarding their response to the coronavirus, COVID-19.

“These are certainly unprecedented times,” said Erik Wexler, executive vice president and chief executive of health and services for Providence St. Joseph’s Southern California Region. “We are doing everything in our power to protect our caregivers.”

As of Monday, no caregivers or physicians with Providence hospitals have contracted the virus, according to Wexler.

“Words cannot express how proud I am of our caregivers,” he said.

A large portion of the teleconference was dedicated to addressing how the virus functions and the ways that residents can help slow the spread of COVID-19.

“All of us have an opportunity to make a pretty significant impact,” said Dr. Sylvain Trepanier, chief clinical executive for the region. “This virus needs a host to live. Without a host, it will not thrive, it will die, and that’s why it is very important to abide by what all of our officials are asking us to do.”

Trepanier emphasized two main methods of preventing the spread of coronavirus: social distancing and washing hands.

“Physical distancing is extremely important,” he said. “The virus does not stick around for a very long time on surfaces by itself.”

While Providence St. Joseph officials have had to figure out ways to conserve certain protective supplies, such as facemasks, Wexler is expecting a shipment of 300,000 masks to be made available in the immediate future.

“Much of this is going to be focused on supply deployment, personnel and other resource needs,” he said. “We are stable from a supply perspective. We are seeing an increase in supply every day.”

Officials also discussed Providence’s role in helping treat the “shelterless” population, with several mobile clinics set to be deployed throughout Los Angeles County.

All Providence hospitals are currently under their normal level of capacity, and officials believe that they will be ready as more people become infected and require treatment, according to Wexler.

“As this ramps up, we will be prepared,” Wexler said.

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