Autumn Bishop, LMH Health
It’s been a year since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and it’s still at the top of everyone’s mind. News and information changes rapidly and it can be hard to keep up. One thing that hasn’t changed? The need to seek care when you need it. Don’t put your health on hold.
A study conducted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and National Public Radio found that between March and August 2020, one in five adults reported their household members were unable to get or delayed receiving medical care for serious problems. Of those who reported delaying care, more than half – 57 percent – said they experienced negative health consequences as a result.
Emergencies won’t wait
Dr. Michael Zabel, cardiologist with Cardiovascular Specialists of Lawrence, said that delaying care for emergencies such as heart attacks or stroke is particularly worrisome.
“People who would have normally gone to the emergency department but didn’t because they were worried about getting COVID – may have died at home,” said Dr. Zabel. “Our ED staff is wonderful with their care and techniques. The risk of an individual coming into the ED and getting COVID because of that visit is extremely small.”
He also said that heart failure patients, particularly those with a history or frequent exacerbations and know that they need to come in, may postpone because they’re afraid of contracting COVID.
“Patients who wait to come in may land in the ICU when they wouldn’t have if they’d come in earlier. In some cases, they might not have needed to be admitted at all,” Dr. Zabel said. “If you’re having symptoms that could be a heart attack or heart failure, don’t hesitate to come to the emergency department and get evaluated. Your chances of having a complication from riding that out at home are much higher.”
It’s not just emergent care that patients have put off. Some may be willing to visit the doctor for routine exams or to be seen for other issues, but are reluctant to participate in follow up care.
“We’re seeing that some patients are reluctant to go to physical therapy,” said Dr. Douglass Stull, an orthopedic surgeon at OrthoKansas. “If they don’t go, they might need surgery because therapy may have prevented that. And for patients who have had surgery, their outcomes aren’t as good because they didn’t go to PT.”
Cold, flu or COVID?
With flu season in full swing, it may be difficult for you to distinguish if what you have is a cold, flu or COVID. Fever, cough and shortness of breath are the three most common symptoms of COVID-related illness, but Dr. Jason Kimball, LMH Health hospitalist, says that some people don’t have typical symptoms.
“It’s not usually until the second week of the viral illness when people develop more severe respiratory complications, but patients can become dangerously hypoxic - dangerously short of oxygen - and not even feel short of breath,” he said. “We encourage patients with progressive symptoms of any sort to reach out to their primary care providers or other sources of care for an evaluation. If patients at risk of developing respiratory complications of COVID come in sooner, we have therapies that can, at times, help avoid complications that can be fatal.”
The hospital is a safe place
Keeping you safe is our top priority. LMH Health follows recommendations from our infectious disease physician team, the KDHE and CDC. We do this by:
- Screening and masking all patients, employees – both contracted and employed – and providers upon arrival
- Requiring masks to be work by everyone at all times in our facilities
- Restricting visitors to the hospital and clinics
- Using telehealth for patient appointments wherever possible
- Providing regular reminders to staff about infection prevention protocol and procedures
- Monitoring supply levels for personal protective equipment (PPE)
“The hospital may very well be the safest place to be in regard to preventing the spread of COVID,” said Dr. Marc Scarbrough, hospitalist and Chief Medical Information Officer for LMH Health. “People shouldn’t avoid contacting their physician when they’re ill – COVID or not.”
Preventing the spread
“You can be asymptomatic and spread COVID without realizing it,” said Dr. Scarbrough. “We continue to see small group and family spread, as we tend to see parents and their children admitted at the same time. People should assume they’re infected and act accordingly.”
COVID vaccines are being rolled out in the community, but at a slow pace due to limited supply and great demand. It’s important to be patient, continue wearing masks and practice social distancing, even after receiving both doses of the vaccine.
Dr. Stull knows that the uncertainty weighs on the community, but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Patients shouldn’t be afraid to seek care, whether that’s at the hospital, the emergency department or one of our clinics.
“COVID is frustrating because of all of the unknowns, but it’s important to be patient and do the things we should be doing,” he said. “We can see patients safely and can do all the things we did before COVID – surgery, imaging, physical therapy. I encourage people that if they would’ve sought care then, it’s safe for them to do it now.”
Autumn Bishop is the marketing communications manager at LMH Health.
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February 08, 2021 at 01:07PM
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Delays in care may cost patients both time and health | LMH Health | Lawrence, KS - LMH Health
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