Local health care providers spent much of the past few months focused on the front lines of the pandemic, treating coronavirus patients and preparing for the feared surge.
They’re still doing all that. CoxHealth just finished treating its first patient with the experimental drug remdesivir, which researchers hope will reduce recovery times of serious cases. Cox and Mercy are still offering free virtual visits to patients who need a COVID-19 consultation and covering the cost of tests, too. And Cox has a new 51-bed coronavirus ICU on standby just in case.
But with the local curve largely “flattened," Springfield’s major hospitals are re-opening their operating rooms to patients who need surgeries unrelated to the coronavirus so they don’t have to wait until it’s too late.
At the height of the crisis, CoxHealth postponed nearly 6,000 surgeries and procedures for safety and space, spokeswoman Kaitlyn McConnell said.
Now the system is back up to around 90 percent of normal capacity and cleaning has been stepped up to make sure patients stay safe.
“In some cases, high-touch areas — such as door handles and elevator buttons — are cleaned four times as frequently as they were before,” McConnell said. “We also have technology at our hospitals, such as a Xenex-light robot, which kills bacteria and viruses at a microscopic level, and a bleach 'gun' that can be used to sterilize surfaces on contact.”
The same tactics are in use at Cox's clinics and urgent cares, which McConnell said never closed to patients who needed care, to make sure the virus doesn't take root there.
"We want to remind patients that their care is essential," she said. "We are prepared to care for patients if and when they need us, and are working to ensure that their experience is a safe one."
Similar work is going on up the road at Mercy, where clinics are asking patients to wait for appointments in their cars to avoid the waiting room and disinfecting exam rooms after every patient visit to avoid transmission.
Clinics are also screening visitors at the door to ensure they’re not bringing the virus with them inside.
“With all of these measures in place, we firmly believe that the only place safer than our offices is your own home,” Dr. Raymond Weick, who works in family medicine at Mercy, said in a recent video.
Independent clinics are also working patients in different ways.
Dr. Shelby Smith at Equality Healthcare said his practice’s model, where patients pay a monthly fee for their care like they would for a Netflix subscription, has thrived amid the crisis.
He already kept in touch with hundreds of patients over text since the monthly fee covers the cost, and now does more of it.
“Our business model doesn’t require people to come in and so we transition pretty easily to phone and email," he said. “I treated a COPD exacerbation over the phone this morning.”
Austin Huguelet is the News-Leader's politics reporter. Got something he should know? Have a question? Call him at 417-403-8096 or email him at ahuguelet@news-leader.com. You can also support local journalism at News-Leader.com/subscribe.
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Health care providers open for business, urge those in need of care not to wait - News-Leader
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