The Coronavirus pandemic has affected all aspects of daily life, and the ease of which it spreads poses a great risk not only in daily life, but especially those in hospitals. Because of this high risk ideally you should hold off your surgery until the situation is under better control. But unfortunately, that is not always possible and surgery may be unavoidable. This latest blog series talks about what to expect in your surgical experience and some things that you should consider during these times.
In Part 3 we talk about things that your hospital should be doing to help protect you from possibly being infected by COVID-19.
*Disclaimer: Your individual hospital, state, city or county may have individual guidelines regarding which surgeries can proceed. Please check with your surgeon or hospital regarding these policies and whether surgery is safe at this time.
1. Screening at hospital entrances
Notice if staff, visitors and patients being screened for symptoms such as fevers, chills or coughs at the hospital entrances. This is the first line of defense for many clinics and hospitals as it is an effective way to filter out higher risk people who may be symptomatic.
2. Ensuring social distancing
Distance markers should be easily seen to help maintain a 6-foot distance between people in all locations where people can gather. Such as: lobbies, registration lines, cafeteria and clinic waiting rooms. If you can, see if you can wait outside of a waiting room when waiting to be called for your appointment, imaging or lab draw.
3. Access to Hand Sanitizers, Cleaning Wipes and Masks
One of the simplest and most effective ways to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 and other possible pathogens is making sure your hands are clean and by wearing a mask. All staff should be wearing surgical masks and sanitizing their hands in between patients. Hand sanitizer stations should be easily locatable so that you can sanitize your hands after touching things such as door handles, pens or magazines. Many clinics should have cleaning wipes around that you may use to wipe off your seat prior to sitting down, as well as staff cleaning high traffic areas in the hospital.
4. Access to Telemedicine Appointments
To help decrease the risk of person-to-person contact, see if your healthcare system is offering telemedicine appointments in lieu of in-person appointments. Many follow up appointments or initial consults can be performed via telemedicine to resolve routine issues or determine whether you may need to come into the office or not.
5. Limited Visitors or Limited Visiting Hours
In order to prevent overcrowding in patient rooms, lobbies, and other areas many hospitals may limit visitors to one visitor per patient or to family only. The time at which visitors may visit may be limited as well. This helps maintain social distancing as well as decrease the risk of someone bringing in COVID.
Conclusion
As areas of higher risk for infections, hospitals have a huge responsibility to limit the spread of COVID-19 and infections in general. The above things are just some of the things that your hospital should be implementing to maintain your safety. Likely your hospital is going above and beyond to ensure patient and staff safety. Be sure to check with your local hospital or clinic to see what they have implemented to help protect you.
Missed Part 1? Check it out here!
Right Device is here to ensure your operative game plan is ready prior to surgery. Sign up today to access our surgery database! Join our Patient Partner Program as well as speak with someone who has had the exact same surgery or with an Orthopedic/Spine Nurse Practitioner or Medical Device Specialist today!
