Officials at the University of Mississippi Medical Center are urging residents who need emergency care to seek it.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak began, officials at the hospital say they’ve noticed a marked decline in the number of people seeking help in its emergency room.
That fact worries healthcare officials, and attribute it to fears that people will get infected with the coronavirus if they visit the facility. Others still might worry that they’re unable to seek help because of the state’s shelter-in-place order.
“We know that people are still getting sick. We know patients are still having heart attacks and strokes. We are still seeing some of those, but the volume is down a good bit,” said UMMC Vice Chancellor LouAnn Woodward.
“We worry about people, particularly those with chronic disease, who may be slowly worsening their condition, from the standpoint of the disease, by not seeking treatment.”
Despite the fact that non-essential surgeries have been canceled as part of the state’s response to the COVID pandemic, Woodward said the hospital is still open to patients seeking emergency care.
“We want to encourage people, if they’re diabetic and their sugar is not controlled, or if they’re having symptoms of a heart attack or a stroke, they need to see us,” she said.
She further stated that the hospital is taking numerous steps to ensure that patient admitted for emergencies are not exposed to corona.
UMMC has reduced its number of entrances to two – one for adult care and one for pediatric care.
“We are screening people at the entry point, from the standpoint of asking them if they’ve had fever, or a cough of shortness of breath. We identify those patients who have or may have COVID-related issues right at the first point of entry,” she said. “We place a mask on all our patients as they’re coming in."
Tests are being conducted by nurses and other trained medical professionals, Woodward explained.
“Patients should feel that every precaution is being taken that we can take,” she said.
On a positive note, Woodward said more people are beginning to use UMMC's telehealth services for non-emergency medical needs. The hospital has also begun providing in-car testing for individuals needing lab work done.
