Keep Cool
MEDICAL UPDATE
This Memorial Day weekend we honor the sacrifices made by our brave military servicemen and women. And for many of us the holiday weekend signals the beginning of summer, the end of the school year, and a fresh opportunity for barbecues, sunburn, and sweat.
Yet COOL AS A CUCUMBER in the face of COVID-19 is my friend and colleague Dr. Jen Abele (pictured here). As Chief Medical Officer and emergency room doctor at Sibley Memorial Hospital, she’s on the front line every day. In addition to saving lives, she helps keep her colleagues organized, informed, updated—and sane. She’s a natural leader and a true gift to our medical community.
I thought it would be useful for you to hear directly from the source about what one of our major DC-area hospitals is seeing. So when I had the chance to catch up with Jen this week, I asked her some questions that I know are on patients’ minds. Here’s what she had to say.
LM: Approximately what percentage of patients coming into the ER are coming in for COVID-related concerns?
JA: A rough estimate would be about 30%.
LM: What are the top COVID symptoms you are seeing?
JA: The most common symptoms are flu-like symptoms with fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, and body aches.
LM: If you could warn people about one thing, what would it be?
JA: If we don’t follow guidelines, including wearing masks and socially distancing, the disease burden will increase and it will take longer to get back to some semblance of normalcy.
LM: What does your staff wish people understood better about COVID?
JA: That you can transmit the disease without even knowing you are sick.
LM: Do you feel safe and prepared at the hospital?
JA: Definitely. We have been preparing for months. We have processes in place and procedures to safely care for both COVID and non-COVID patients.
LM: Are you seeing a decrease in patients coming in for other issues?
JA: Yes, emergency department volumes have gone down significantly at Sibley Memorial Hospital and in other hospitals across the nation. I think patients are afraid they will contract COVID-19 at the hospital, but the emergency department has numerous features that can’t be visualized that make it safe. The air from the waiting room and triage area is all negative pressure and completely vents to the outside. The emergency department also has a lot of air cleaners, negative pressure rooms, and undergoes continual cleaning of surfaces. Staff always wear masks as do patients when not in their room.
Our non-COVID admissions to the intensive care unit have increased and some of this appears to be related to patients delaying care until they are critically ill.
LM: What is capacity like at Sibley?
JA: We are operating at our average inpatient census [Ed- meaning right now there are no more patients in the hospital than is typical] but have greatly increased our surge capacity in case of need.
LM: What are the biggest patient care challenges for a hospital system like Sibley?
JA: Like many companies and businesses, our physical structure and workflows are not built to separate everyone. Developing processes for flow with new guidelines for spacing out has been a big challenge.
LM: Do you have any advice for patients considering an ER visit before they come?
JA: My biggest advice would be not to delay care. The emergency department is safe, so if you think you need care, please do not delay. I would also recommend that patients bring a charged cell phone, if possible [Ed- in case they need to stay overnight and communicate with family].
THANK YOU, JEN.
That’s a wrap! I hope you have a restful and safe weekend. I’ll be in touch here and there over the weekend but will mostly be KICKING MY FEET UP with my family.
P.S. Here is the link to yesterday's webinar on TELEHEALTH. Psychiatrist and TalkSpace CEO Neil Leibowitz, MD, and I spoke with health policy expert Arielle Kane about the opportunities ahead for increasing access and augmenting mental and physical health services with telehealth as part of our “new normal” in medicine. Thanks to the Progressive Policy Institute for inviting me!