Page 36 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2020

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36 | October 2020
www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
“Safety has always been an important consideration, but it became a priority message for Coastal Mississippi as the pandemic reached our shores,” said CEO Milton Segarra. “Our expertise is in destination marketing, not health, so we leaned on the subject matter experts in our region to provide approval for our Destination Promise.”
That promise of health and safety draws from recommendations developed by leading agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Mississippi State Department of Health, and the industry guidelines developed by the U.S. Travel Association.
Equally important in fulfilling the Destination Promise was establishing partnerships with
local health care providers. These include Singing River Health System, Merit Health Biloxi, and Memorial Hospital .
The health care partners feel everyone in the community has a role to play in creating a safe and healthy environment in homes, schools, churches and businesses. “Adopting common sense best practices such as face coverings, hand washing, social distancing and isolating if feeling sick are all key to keeping everyone healthy,” Singing River Health System spokeswoman Sarah Du ey said. “Destination Health Promise is a pledge we can all take seriously and as a leader in health and wellness we are always ready to provide guidance and support.”
Memorial spokeswoman Angie Juzang noted that Memorial has
relied heavily on guidance from state and national experts and leading health care agencies. “While many of the guidelines fluctuated
as the understanding of the virus evolved, we continued to implement and educate individuals on the protocols one takes to decrease the rate of infection for any virus.”
Juzang added that Memorial continues to provide accessibility to COVID-19 testing sites, utilizing their mobile clinic to bring testing to numerous communities. “Our early implementation of respiratory precaution clinics aided in keeping the number of positive COVID-19 cases lower than surrounding counties,” she said. “In most cases where hospitals have experienced shortages of personal protection equipment, we have been able to provide masks to help.”
safe & sound
#VisitMSResponsibly
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COASTAL MISSISSIPPI RECOGNIZES THAT WITHOUT HEALTHY COMMUNITIES, THERE IS NO TOURISM. Much of the local
economy depends on tourism and ensuring that visitors feel safe is a primary concern of the three- county tourism marketing organization.
DestinationHealth Promise story by Lynn Lofton