Message from the Board

Patient Safety in the Time of the Coronavirus Pandemic

The Coronavirus Pandemic has impacted our lives on every level imaginable. We have faced unprecedented challenges, with the temporary closing of local businesses, the sudden home schooling of our children, unexpected financial stressors, interruption in our social routines, and first and foremost, heightened apprehension over our health and safety.

While staying home may be a safer option over venturing into large crowds, it may not be the best option if you require care for a medical condition. A large concern throughout the healthcare world is that the pandemic has caused patients with chronic, and even acute illnesses other than COVID-19, to forego treatment in fear of contracting COVID-19 from public spaces, including doctors' offices and emergency rooms. In an attempt to stay safe from the Coronavirus, patients may put themselves at risk of other health consequences by delaying a trip to their healthcare provider.

Our primary care physicians have taken extra safety precautions such as enforcing mask policies and asking patients to wait in their cars until they can be taken directly back to an examination room to provide a safe environment for your office visit. We are also offering treatment through telehealth visits, which enable patients to consult their physician from the safety of their own home.

We've increased our safeguards at the hospital as well to provide additional protection against the spread of COVID-19. Every patient and visitor must first check in at a screening desk. Treatment rooms are always sanitized to CDC specifications, and waiting areas and hallways, undergo thorough cleanings more often to prevent the spread of germs.

In March, we consolidated COVID testing through the Dosher physician network to our Urgent Care on Long Beach Road, in an effort to mitigate the risk of a patient contracting COVID-19 from another patient during an office visit to his doctor or from a trip to the hospital. At press time, the Dosher Urgent Care is open for general illness visits in the morning hours and for Coronavirus testing in the afternoon, to segregate those who need COVID testing from patients with symptoms of other illnesses. While our Urgent Care used to be a walk in clinic, we now request all patients to call ahead as an additional precaution.

Patient safety has always been top priority at Dosher, and so are your concerns. If you need medical attention but are uneasy about your visit, please call your provider. Now more than ever before, it's important for you to have confidence in your healthcare provider and know that they are listening. At Dosher, we are not only agreeable to these conversations. We encourage them.

Be well,

Debbie Wood