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MARIETTA — As efforts continue to improve overall travel conditions following the winter storm, life gradually continues despite the cold.

The ice on the roads are being chiseled away and people are returning to work, driving carefully and staying vigilant.

While many businesses and schools in the area experienced shutdowns and delays, facilities such as hospitals and emergency services continue to ensure both the safety and health of their patients and staff.

What is their procedure for severe winter weather?

Marietta Memorial Health System Associate Vice President of Service Excellence Jennifer Offenberger said no matter the weather, emergency services remain available 24 hours per day seven days a week.

“While rare, there are times we need to alter hours of availability for our scheduled patient appointments or testing,” said Offenberger. “When we determine that it is necessary, we contact patients directly and change information via our website, social media, and local media.”

Offenberger said the staff prepare for the winter weather and ensure facilities are ready for patients and walkways and parking lots are cleared. She said they check supplies and practice drills in the event of extreme weather or disasters.

“There are times, like this week, for the safety of everyone we had to close our clinics and reschedule patient appointments,” said Offenberger.

“When our office delays and cancellations occur, we reach out directly to the patients to reschedule their appointments and ensure they get the care they need.”

She said all of the medical staff work together to monitor weather conditions and determine when to delay or cancel appointments.

“While there are times when non-essential, elective, or routine procedures are postponed, we continue to provide services to our community,” said Offenberger. “We continue surgeries that cannot be postponed …we often have staff stay on-site for several days to ensure coverage.”

She said during the weekend storm, many of the employees at Marietta Memorial stayed at the hospital to continue providing emergency support.

She said patient volume often decreases during a storm but increases as roads clear with patients reporting ice-related falls and frostbite.

Bond’s Drugs Pharmacist Dan Bond said they were fortunate to remain open during the winter storm.

“We’re always closed on Sundays but we chose to adjust our hours Monday and Tuesday,” said Bond. “We opened later to give our staff time to come in later and leave earlier.”

Bond said even though they remained open, their patient volume went down since people weren’t going to the doctor’s office.

“The days we were here weren’t busy at all but we wanted to be here just in case,” said Bond.

He said they have a great staff of people willing to come in despite the weather and be there for the community.

“We do delivery services, too, so on Monday and Tuesday we didn’t do delivery and Wednesday we did limited delivery and hit the areas we know were safe to drive on,” he said.

Bond said he can’t remember the last time there was a winter storm this intense but their pharmacy was able to work through it and continue being there for those who needed prescriptions.

Bond’s Drugs has served Vienna, Parkersburg, Williamstown, Marietta and Belpre since 2007.

“The roads are improving and we continue to adjust,” he said.

A spokesperson for WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center said critical services including chemotherapy and infusions often remain on schedule whereas single-visit appointments may be rescheduled for travel safety.

Decisions to close clinics or cancel outpatient appointments are determined by Camden Clark’s Incident Command Team which reviews weather conditions, staff and patient safety and the urgency of a procedure.

Camden Clark offers on-site lodging for staff during severe weather emergencies to assist with emergency procedures. The Incident Command Team conducts meetings before weather events to discuss and prepare for severe weather.

The Emergency Department and Ambulance Services at Camden Clark remained fully staffed and 911 services were not interrupted.

Amber Phipps can be reached at aphipps@newsandsentinel.com