Contact: media@bannerhealth.com

PHOENIX (March 2, 2020) – Banner Health continues to closely monitor the situation regarding the COVID-19 outbreak. The safety of our employees and our patients is of primary importance to us.

Outbreaks such as COVID-19 and influenza are best controlled by practicing good infection prevention principles. We safely care for patients with respiratory viruses every day. Our routine processes of putting masks on patients who have fever and respiratory illness, asking about travel history, and following policies on caring for patients with these types of infections not only help us provide safe patient care but also a safe work environment.

We will continue to exclusively follow guidance and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as our national public health experts. Our preparedness and response activities to date include:

• Creating a team to ensure consistent approach to preparedness across our Banner entities.
• Having hospital infection prevention leaders review local response plans related to infectious diseases with their local leaders. Our goal is to ensure everyone is aware of their responsibilities in the event we see an influx of patients.
• Carefully monitoring supply inventories for all essential supplies including personal protective equipment and medications and working with our vendors and public health agencies.

About Banner Health

Headquartered in Arizona, Banner Health is one of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the country. The system owns and operates 28 acute-care hospitals, Banner Health Network, Banner – University Medicine, academic and employed physician groups, long-term care centers, outpatient surgery centers and an array of other services; including Banner Urgent Care, family clinics, home care and hospice services, pharmacies and a nursing registry. Banner Health is in six states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming. For more information, visit www.BannerHealth.com.