BEND, OR -- In a weekly update email, St. Charles President and CEO Joe Sluka said his father-in-law died from COVID-19 this past Friday. “Some of you have already watched loved ones struggle to recover, while others have experienced devastating losses,” Sluka said. “For me, that wasn’t the case until last Friday when COVID hit home.”

Sluka said he heard his father-in-law was sick and would be moved to comfort care early Friday morning. He passed away by late afternoon, Sluka said. “This is a man that loved and was loved,” Sluka said. “I lost someone I considered a friend, father and one of my biggest supporters.” Sluka said he understood Central Oregonian’s frustration with being out of work and staying home. He referenced a protest against Gov. Brown’s executive order held in Redmond last week. But Sluka urged Central Oregonians to continue abiding by social distancing guidelines. “While everyone wants to get back to work, relaxing our social distancing measures requires thoughtful planning and consideration to ensure who don’t throw ourselves right back into the eye of the storm,” Sluka said.Sluka said St. Charles is developing guidelines for virus testing, working to ensure they have enough personal protective equipment and supporting contact tracing efforts. St. Charles in Bend has begun processing COVID-19 tests locally for patients with results available in 40 minutes, Sluka said.

While he outlined a roadmap to recovery and thanked the public for social distancing, Sluka emphasized the fight against COVID-19 isn’t over yet. “You have bought us precious time and we thank you,” Sluka said. “But that doesn’t mean the storm is over.” For the full story click here: https://centraloregondaily.com/st-charles-ceo-loses-father-in-law-to-covid-urges-social-distancing/